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THIRTY MORE 


FAMOUS STORIES RETOLD 


BY 

JAMES BALDWIN 

author of ** FIFTY FAMOUS STORIES RETOLD,” “ BALDWIN’S READERS,” 
“ ABRAHAM LINCOLN,” ** THE STORY OF SIEGFRIED,” ETC. 



> 


> > 


NEW YORK CINaNNATI CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



Copyright, 1905, by 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY. 

Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London. 


THIRTY more. 

E P 10 



9o-c>g’(S- 





> 


> . 




To 

THE LITTLEST TEACHER OF THEM ALL ” 
AND HIS FRIENDS, 


THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED 
WITH THE SINCERE REGARDS OF 
THE AUTHOR 


[From Bulletin of the New York Public Library] 

And last comes the littlest teacher of them all. By standing up very 
straight he could look across the top of my desk and his eyes met mine un- 
waveringly, as I accused him of having kept Baldwin’s “ Fifty Famous Stories ” 
from August till December. He explained, and I considered the matter set- 
tled. Five minutes later I looked up to find him still there — “ Little boy, 
what do you want? ” 

“ Please, ma’am, that book.” 

This was too much — “You’ve had it three months; why don’t you take 
some other ? ” 

“ Because that’s the only one she likes. I’ve tried another; she won’t even 
look at it.” 

“ She ? who is she ? ” 

“ The one I teach.” 

I thought he was getting mixed. “The book you learn from, little boy? ” 

“ No, ma’am, the girl I teach.” 

“ How old is she? ” 

He eyed me critically. “ ’Bout as big as you are.” 

Then he ,told me all about her. She was the daughter of the Italian shoe- 
mender; her father wasn’t very kind to her, she knew no English, and had no 
friends; he taught her in the evenings. “But she’s learnin’, and when she 
learns she’ll like this better ’n Italy.” 


TO THE BOYS AND GIRLS 


It is now more than a year since you read my “ Fifty 
Famous Stories.” Those stories, as you will remember, 
are quite short and easy. Before you had finished your 
second year at school you could read every one of them 
without stopping to study the meaning of the words. 
Many thousands of children have read those fifty stories, 
and then they have asked for more ; and this is my excuse 
for the present volume. 

You are older now, and you have learned many things 
which you did not know when we first became acquainted. 
You are able to read almost everything. And so, in tell- 
ing you “Thirty More Famous Stories,” I have chosen 
more difficult subjects and have not been so careful to 
select the shortest and easiest words. Still, you will not 
find this book hard to read, neither do I think it will 
prove to be less interesting than the earlier volume. 

Nearly all the stories are true, and there are not 
more than three or four that might not have happened. 
In every one there is something worth learning and 
remembering. 


4 


FAMOUS STORIES 


Columbus and the Egg . 






PAGE 

7 

“Upon a Peak in Darien ” — First Story 

• 

• 



lO 

“Upon a Peak in Darien” — Second Story 

• 



17 

The Fountain of Youth 


• 

• 



23 

“ Eureka ! ” 






29 

Galileo and the Lamps . ' . 


• 

• 



34 

Sir Isaac Newton and the Apple 


• 

• 



37 

The First Printer .... 


• 

• 



40 

John Gutenberg and the Voices . 


• 

• 



46 

James Watt and the Teakettle . 


• 

• 



50 

Dr. Johnson and his Father 


• 

• 



54 

Webster and the Woodchuck 


• 




62 

Friar Bacon and the Brazen Head 


• 

• 



67 

“As Rich as Crcesus” . 


• 

• 



82 

The Gordian Knot .... 



• 



87 

Why Alexander Wept . 


• 

• 



95 

King Richard and Blondel *. 


• 

« 



97 

King John and Prince Arthur 


• 

• 



io8 

King John and the Magna Charta 


• 

• 



118 

Frederick Barbarossa . 


• 




123 

The Man in the Iron Mask . 


• 




132 


5 


6 


FAMOUS STORIES 


PAGE 

The Fall of Troy 136 

Penelope’s Web . 157 

How Rome was Founded 177 

How Decius Mus saved Rome 197 

Delenda est Carthago ” 200 

Hannibal, the Hero of Carthage 205 

Crossing the Rubicon 212 

The White-headed Zal 216 

Peter Klaus the Goatherd . . . ^ . 225 


t 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 




COLUMBUS AND THE EGG 



Christopher Columbus discovered America on the 
1 2th of October, 1492. He had spent eighteen 
years in planning for that wonderful first voyage 
which he made across the Atlantic Ocean. The 
thoughts and hopes of the best part of his life had 
been given to it. He had talked and argued with 
7 


8 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


sailors and scholars and princes and kings, saying, 
“ I know that, by sailing west across the great ocean, 
one may at last reach lands that have never been 
visited by Europeans.” But he had been laughe d at 
as a foolish dreamer, and few people had any faith 
in his projects. 

At last, however, the king and queen of Spain 
gave him ships wi th which to make the tria l voyage. 
He crossed the ocean and discovered strange lands, 
inhabited by a people un like a ny that had been 
known before. He believed that these lands were 
a part of India. 

When he returned home with the news of his 
discovery there was great rejoicing, and he was 
hailed as the hero who had given a new world to 
Spain. Crowds of people lined the streets through 
which he passed, and all were anxious to do him 
honor. The king and queen welcomed him to 
their palace and listened with pleasure to the story 
^of his voyage. Never ha^ so great respect been 
shown to any common man. 

But there were some who were jealous of the dis- 
coverer, and as ready to find fault as others were to 
praise. “ Who is this Columbus ? ” they asked, 
“ and what has he done ? Is he not a pauper_pilot 
from Italy ? And could, not any other seaman sail 
across the ocean j ust as he has do ne ? ” 


COLUMBUS AND THE EGG 


9 


One day Columbus was at a dinner which a 
Spanish gentleman had given in his honor, and sev- 
eral of these persons were present. They were 
pr oud, conceited fel lows, and they very soon began 
to try to make Columbus uncomfortable. 

“You have discovered strange lands beyond the 
sea,” they said. “ But what of tha t ? We do not see 
why there should be so much said about it. Any- 
body can sail across the ocean; and anybody can 
coast along the islands on the other side, just as you 
have done. It is the simplest thing in the world.” 

Columbus made no answer ; but after a while he 
took an egg from a dish and said to the company, 
“Who among you, gentlemen, can make this egg 
st and on end ? ” 

One by one those at the table tried the experi- 
ment. When the egg had gone entirely around 
and none had succeeded, all said that it could not 
be done. 

Then Columbus took the egg and struck its small 
end gently upon the table so as to break the shell a 
little. After that there was n o trouble in making 
it stand upright. 

“ Gentlemen,” said he, “ what is easier than to 
do this which you said was impossible? It is the 
simplest thing in the world. Anybody can do it — 
a/Ur he has been shown howP 


UPON A PEAK IN DARIEN 


FIRST STORY 

After Columbus had shown the way to America ’ 
a great many Spaniards came over. They came to 
Haiti and Cuba and Porto Rico and the smaller 
islands near them. Like Columbus they believed 
that these lands were near the eastern coast of 
Asia. They believed that they were a part of 
India, and therefore spoke of them as the Indies. 
Afterwards, when their mistake became known, 
these islands were named the West Indies and the 
true islands of India were called the East Indies. 

Far to the southwest of Cuba, Columbus had dis- 
covered a long coast which he named Darien. It 
was the neck of land which we call the Isthmus of 
Panama, but he supposed that it was a part of the 
mainland of Asia. A few years later some Spanish 
sailors visited Darien and carried word back to 
Haiti that there was gold there. Now at that time 
a Spaniard would go to the end of the world for 
gold, and therefore this news caused great excite- 
ment among the young men who had come across 
the ocean for the purpose of adventure. 


«UPON A PEAK IN DARIEN 11 

“ To Darien 1 to Darien ! ” was the cry ; and 
soon a company was formed and two ships were 
made ready to sail to that land of promise. 

The voyage was a delightful one from the start. 
The sea was calm, the wind was fair, and the vessels 
sped swiftly on their way. Soon the pleasant shores 
and green mountains of Haiti were lost to view. 
Only little rocky islets could be seen. The ship 
was heading straight into the Caribbean Sea. 

Then, what was the surprise of the crew of 
the larger ship to hear strange rappings in the 
hold! A voice also was heard, like that of some 
one calling for help. What could it mean.? The 
sailors could not see any one, and yet the sounds 
could not be mistaken. 

“ Please help me out I ” The voice seemed to 
come from among some barrels in which pro- 
visions were stored. 

“ A man is in one of the barrels,” said the captain. 

Soon the barrel was found and opened. Out of 
it leaped a young man, richly clad in a velvet 
cloak and a silk doublet embroidered with gold. 
He was a handsome fellow. His eyes were keen 
and bright, and his face had a determined look, 
like that of one who is used to having his own 
way about things. At his side hung a long sword, 
and in his belt was a dagger. 


12 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


Several of the men knew him; and so he did 
not need to say that his name was Vasco Nunez 
de Balboa. They knew that he was a dashing 
adventurer, always doing and daring, and always 
borrowing and spending money. But why was he 
in the barrel.'^ 

“ The truth of the matter is this,” he said ; “lam 
in debt to almost everybody in Haiti. The officers 
were looking for me and would have taken me to 
prison. So I persuaded one of my friends to put 
me in a barrel and send me on board with the 
salt beef. And now here I am, bound with the 
rest of you for the rich coast of Darien.” 

The captain was very angry. He threatened 
to put Balboa ashore on one of the rocky islets. 
“ Shame ! shame ! ” cried the rest of the party. “ Let 
him go with us. He will be a great help.” And 
so the captain grew kinder and agreed to take 
him. 

Balboa’s manners were so pleasant, and he proved 
to be so able and brave, that soon nearly all on the 
ship looked up to him as their leader. When they 
reached Darien and began to seek for a good place 
to settle, Balboa gave them much help. He had 
been on the coast before, and he guided them to a 
safe harbor. 

The captain proved to be so overbearing that 


«UPON A PEAK IN DARIEN 


13 


the men at last refused to obey him. They chose 
Balboa to be their commander, and the captain 
was glad to go back to Haiti in one of the ships. 

Balboa made a treaty with a powerful Indian 
chief who lived in a grand house and ruled all the 
country around. He married the chief’s daughter; 
and at the wedding feast the chief gave the Span- 
iards a great quantity of gold and many slaves. 

The Indians did not care much for gold. They 
did not know that it was worth anything. When 
they saw the Spaniards molding it into bars and 
quarreling over it, they were astonished. “ If you 
think so much of that yellow stuff,” they said, “ why 
don’t you go where there is plenty of it?” And 
then they told Balboa that far to the south, on the 
other side of the mountains, there was a great sea, 
and on the shores of the sea there lived a people 
who had so much gold that they used it to make 
cups and bowls and even pans and kettles. 

Balboa made up his mind to go at once in search 
of that sea. With two hundred men and a pack 
of bloodhounds, to chase unfriendly Indians, he set 
off toward the mountains. The distance was not 
great, but the country was very rough, the forest 
was almost impassable, and the party had to move 
slowly. After many days they came to the highest 
ridge of the mountains. Balboa climbed to the top 


14 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


of the loftiest peak and looked around. South and 
west of him he beheld a great sea. It was so near 



that it seemed almost at his feet ; and it stretched 
away and away into the distance until it seemed to 
meet the blue sky. 

No white man had ever beheld that sea before ; 



“UPON A PEAK IN DARIEN 


15 


none had even so much as heard of it. The Span- 
iards afterwards called it the South Sea, because in 
going to it across the isthmus it seemed to lie south 
of the land ; but we know it as the largest of all the 
oceans, the mighty Pacific. 

From that peak in Darien, Balboa looked down 
with mingled feelings of awe and exultation. 

“With eagle eyes 

He stared at the Pacific, — and all his men 
Looked at each other with a wild surmise — 

Silent, upon a peak in Darien.” 

Balboa had no idea that he had discovered an 
ocean. He supposed that the great water was 
merely a gulf or bay washing the coast, perhaps of 
India, perhaps of China. He hastened to get down 
to the shore. He stood on the beach, and as the 
waves broke about his feet he raised his sword in 
the air and declared that he took possession of the 
new-found sea in the name of the king of Spain. 

Balboa with his men soon returned to the other 
side of the isthmus. He sent word to Spain of the 
discovery he had made. But ships and men and a 
new governor were already on their way to Darien ; 
for word had reached the king that plenty of gold 
was to be had there. 

The new governor was an old man, as fierce and 
heartless as a tiger. No sooner had he arrived in 


l6 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

Darien than he began to oppress and kill the 
Indians. Thousands of them perished through his 
cruelty. Balboa was grieved to the heart ; he felt 
pity for the poor savages. By the first homeward- 
bound ship he secretly sent complaints to the king 
about the governor’s doings. Then he set to work 
getting ready to explore the South Sea. 

Four small ships were taken apart at Darien, and 
Balboa caused the pieces to be carried over the 
mountains. At the shore on the farther side these 
pieces were again put together, and the ships were 
launched upon the sea. They were the first 
European vessels that ever floated on the Pacific. 

But they were not yet ready to sail. They still 
needed a few bolts to strengthen them and some 
pitch to stop the leaks. While Balboa was waiting 
for these things the governor sent for him. The 
old tiger had heard of the complaints that had been 
sent to the king. 

Balboa was ready to obey orders. He recrossed 
the mountains and was met by the officers who had 
been sent to arrest him. “ You have plotted against 
me, you have tried to turn the king against me,’’ 
said the savage governor. “ You shall die the death 
of a traitor.” 

Before the sun went down, the brave, dashing 
handsome Balboa was dead. 


UPON A PEAK IN DARIEN 



THIRTY MORE FAM. STO. — 2 1 7 


SECOND STORY 


After Balboa’s discovery of the Pacific Ocean, 
seventy years v^ent by. Then, one day, another 
bold adventurer stood upon a peak in Darien. 

The name of this man was Francis Drake. He 
was known far and wide as the most daring sailor 
on the seas. He was an Englishman, and he hated 
Spain and the Spaniards with a bitter hatred. Like 


1 8 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

Balboa, he visited Darien in search of gold; but 
he meant to get it from those whom he called his 
enemies — to take it away from them by force. 

He stood near the top of a high cliff, not far from 
the line where the famous Panama Canal is now 
being built. Below him there was a deep ravine, 
and along the ravine there was a mule path. This 
mule path was the road along which the Span- 
iards carried their treasures over the mountains to 
the seaport of Darien, to be loaded on ships and 
sent to Spain. Close to this pathway, crouching 
behind rocks and trees, were Captain Drake’s 
followers — a few rough sailors armed to the teeth 
and a band of light-footed Indians with spears and 
clubs. They seemed to be expecting some one to 
pass that way; for they moved very cautiously and 
kept their weapons in their hands ready for use, 
while they watched their leader on the steep moun- 
tain wall above them. 

As Drake stood near the edge of the cliff he 
saw before him a tall tree with spreading branches 
reaching like gaunt, bare arms toward the sky. 
“ Ah ! ” said he, “ what better outlook could one 
want than this ? ” 

Sailor as he was, it was easy enough for him to 
clamber up the gnarled trunk. Soon he was stand- 
ing on the very topmost branch. As he looked 


UPON A PEAK IN DARIEN 


19 


around him, what a glorious view did he behold ! 
On every side were wooded mountain tops, green 
with tropical verdure. Between them were deep 
ravines and broad valleys, with thick forests of 
giant trees and sprawling vines and tangled un^ 
derwoods, through which the feet of man had 
never passed. Far to the north he caught faint 
glimpses of the sea on which he had lately sailed, 
and he knew that in a snug harbor somewhere 
on the coast of that sea his ship, safe hidden from 
Spanish eyes, was waiting for his return. 

But it was not for the northern view that he cared. 
He turned and looked in the other direction. Never 
had he seen a grander sight. There, in plain view 
before him, was the great western ocean, the mighty 
Pacific, which the Spaniard Balboa had discovered, 
and which Spain had ever since claimed as her own. 

The waters danced and sparkled in the sunlight, 
just as they had done in Balboa’s time, and they 
stretched south and west a marvelous distance, until 
at last sea and sky seemed mingled in one. The 
heart of the bold sailor was strangely moved as he 
gazed upon this scene ; for he was the first of Eng- 
lishmen to behold that greatest of all waters. 

As he looked he could see the ships of Spain, like 
specks upon the water, sailing into the port of Pan- 
ama, and bringing the treasures of Peru and of the 


20 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


golden East to swell the wealth and increase the 
power of the Spanish king. Tears came to his eyes. 
He clenched his hands with strong determination. 
His breath came quickly as he thought of the hated 
Spaniards and of their claim to the ownership of 
half the world. 

Then, forgetting where he was, he knelt down 
among the branches. “O God,” he prayed, “help 
me to humble the pride of Spain, and help me to 
promote England’s glory on the seas. And I vow 
to give my time and strength to this cause, and 
never to rest till I shall sail an English ship on 
the waters of this great ocean.” 

A call from his men in the ravine below aroused 
him ; and as he hastened to descend from the tree 
he heard the tinkle of bells far down the mountain 
pass. A train of mules laden with gold and silver 
from the mines of Peru was slowly approaching. It 
was to waylay and capture such a train that he 
and his followers had come to this peak in Darien ; 
and here, now, was his opportunity. 

An hour later Captain Drake was dividing the 
treasure among his followers. There was so great 
a weight of precious metals that they could not 
carry it all, but were obliged to bury a part in a 
secret place in the forest. 

The story of the bold capture was carried to 



“UPON A PEAK IN DARIEN” 21 

Panama and the other Spanish towns on the isth- 
mus, but Drake was soon safe back on board of his 
ship. The fear of the bold sea rover spread to every 
port on the coast, and from that day the pride of 
Spain began to be humbled. 


, *“ I myself will make him a knight.’” 

Two years later Captain Drake fulfilled his vow 
by sailing an English vessel on the mighty Pacific. 
Along the coasts of Chile and Peru he sailed. He 
captured Spanish towns, he waylaid Spanish treas- 
ure ships, he carried terror into all the Spanish 
provinces. Then, when his vessel was loaded with 
so much treasure that she could carry no more, he 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

turned his course to the west, and was the first 
Englishman to sail across the Pacific. Westward 
and still westward he sailed. He passed on the 
south of the Philippines, he touched at the Spice 
Islands, he traversed the Indian Ocean, he sailed 
around Africa, and finally returned in safety to 
England. It was a wonderful voyage — the first 
English voyage round the world. 

Queen Elizabeth was so delighted when she heard 
of Drake’s exploits that she cried out, “He shall 
be Sir Francis Drake. I myself will make him a 
knight.” 

And Sir Francis Drake it was ; and from his time 
the power of England on the sea began to be felt. 


THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH 



Among the Spaniards who flocked to America 
in the hope of finding gold, there was a certain 
officer whose name was Juan Ponce de Leon. 
He had distinguished himself in the Spanish army 
and was very rich. He also had much influence 
with the king — so much, in fact, that he was soon 
appointed governor of all the eastern part of 
Haiti. 


23 


24 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


While attending to his duties in Haiti, he learned 
that at some distance farther eastward there was a 
rich island abounding in gold and other precious 
metals. The Indians called this island Borinquen ; 
it was the same land which Columbus had discov- 
ered 9J[ew--years before and called Porto Rico. 

Ponce de Leon was so much pleased by the 
reports which were brought to him of the great 
wealth of Porto Rico that he at once made up his 
mind to get that wealth for himself. The king 
of Spain was very willing to please him and to 
have a share of the profits, and t herefore appointed 
him governor of Porto Rico. Ponce was not a man 
to waste time in any undertaking. With eight stanch 
ships and seyemj_ hundr ed men, he at once set sail 
for his new province and in due time landed upon 
the island. 

The natives were kind and gentle. They wel- 
comed the white men to their pleasant country 
and tried to help them in, such ways as they 
could. Ponce de Leon repaid them, as the Span- 
iards at that time usually repaid a kindness, — he 
robbed them of all they had and made slaves of 
as many as he could. Then at length the har- 
assed savages turned against their oppressors and 
tried to drive them from the island ; but what could 
they do against enemies so cunning and strong ? 


THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH 


25 


Ponce was as heartless and unfeeling as any wild 
beast. Soon the once happy island was filled with 
distress and terror. The Indians were hunted 
from their homes. Thousm^s of them were killed, 
and the rest became the slaves of their conquerors. 

Ponce began to form a settlement at a place now 
called Pueblo Viejo ; but he soon changed his plans 
and removed to a fine harbor on the north shore of 
the island. There he laid out the city of San Juan. 
He built for himself, near the mouth of the harbor, 
a grand house which he called Casa Blanca, or the 
White Castle; and there he made his home for 
some time. 

But, with all his wealth, Ponce was not happy. 
He had lived so carelessly and wildly that his 
youth went from him early. At„ fifty years of 
age he was a miserable old man. TJiere_was no 
more joy in .the_world for him. 

One day as he. w as sitting unhappy in the 
White Castle, a thing occurred that kindled a 
spark of hope in his despairing mind. He over- 
heard an. Indian slave say, “ In Bimini no one grows 
old.” 

“ Bimini ! What is Bimini ? he asked. 

“ It is a beautiful island that lies far, far to the 
north of us,”, was-,the answer. 

“ Tell me about it.” 


26 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


“There is a fountain there, a spring of clear 
water, the most wonderful in the world. Every- 
one that bathes in it becomes as young and 
strong as he was in his best days. No one 
grows old in Bimini.” 

“ Have you ever been there } ” 

“ Ah, no. It is too far awayjQr_any of our peo- 
ple to ^mak e the voyage. But we have heard talk 
of the fountain aj l^our lives. ” 

Ponce asked _pther Indians about Bimini and its 
magic fountain. All had heard of it. It was a land 
fragrant with flowers. I^tjayjar to the northwest — 
too far for frail canoes to venture. But the great 
ships of the white men could easily make the 
voyage in a few days. 

Ponce made up his mind to discover the foun- 
tain. He first got the king’s permission to conquer 
Bimini, wjiereyer it might be. Then with three 
ships and a number of followers he sailed toward 
the northwest. He passed through the great group 
of islands known as the Bahamas ; and, wherever 
there were natives living, he stopped and made 
inquiries. 

“ Where is Bimini ? Where is the magic foun- 
tain of youth ? ” 

They pointed to the northwest. It was always 
a little farther and a little farther. No one had 


THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH 


27 

ever seen the fountain, but Ponce understood that 
every one had heard of it. 

At length, after le aving the Bahamas far behind 
them, the Spaniards discovered a strange coast 
where the land seemed to be covered with flowers. 
vWas this Bimini.? 

Nobody could tell. The coast stretched so far 
northward and southward that Ponce felt sure it 
was no island but the mainland of a continent. 
The day was Easter Sunday, which in Spain is 
called Pascua de Flores, or the Feast of Flowers. 
For this reason, and also ^cause of . the abundance 
of flowers, the Spaniards named the land Florida. 

Ponce de Leon went on shore a^^any places 
and sought for the wonderful fountain. He drank 
from every clear spring. He bathed in many a 
limpid stream. But his lost youth did not come 
back to him. 

He sailed southward and around to the western 
coast of Florida, asking every wherCj — 

“Is this Bimini.? And where is the fountain 
of youth ? ” 

But the Indians who lived there had never 
heard of Bimini, and they knew of no fountain 
of youth. And so, at last, the search was,,^lven 
up, and Ponce returned disappointed to Porto 
Rico. 


28 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


Nine years passed, and then he sailed again for 
^ Florida. This time he took a number of men with 
him in order to conquer the country and_seize upon 
whatever treasures he might find there. More-than 
this, he expected to explore its woods and rivers 
and seek again for the mysterious fountain of 
youth. 

The Florida Indians did not have any treasures ; 
but they were brave and loved their homes. They 
would not be conquered and enslaved without a 
struggle. They therefore fell upon the Spaniards 
when they landed, and drove, them back to their 
ships. ^ 

Ponce de Leon was struck by an arrow. He 
was wounded in the thigh. 

“Take me back to Spain,” said he, “for I shall 
never find the fountain of youth.” 

His ship carried him to Cuba ; but no skill could 
heal his wound. He lingered in pain for a long 
time, and then died, bewailing his lost youth. 


EUREKA ! 


There was once a king of Syracuse whose name 
was Hiero. The country over which he ruled was 
quite small, but for that very reason he wanted to 
wear the biggest crown in the world. So he called 
in a famous goldsmith, who was skillful- in all kinds 
of fine work, and gave him ten pounds of pure gold. 

“ Take this,” he said, “and fas hion it into a crown 
that shall make every other king want it for^is 
own. Be sure that you put into it every grain of 
the gold I give you, and do not mix any other 
metal with it.” 

“ It shall be as you wish,” said the goldsmith. 
“ Here I receive from you ten pounds of pure gold ; 
within ninety days I will return to you the finished 
crown which shall be of exactly the same weight.” 

Ninety days later, true to his word , the goldsmith 
brought the crown. It was a beautiful piece of 
work, and all who saw it said that it had not its 
equal in the world. W hen King Hiero pu t it on 
his head it felt very u ncomfortable, but he did not 
mind that — he was sure that no other king had so 
fine a h eadpie ce. After he had admired it from this 


29 


30 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


side and from that, he weighed it on his own scales. 
It was exactly as he^vy as he had ordered. 

“You deserve great praise,’’ he said to the gold- 
smith. “ You have wrought^^^ery skillfully and you 
have not lost a grain of my gold.” 

There was in the king’s court a very wise man 
whose name was Archimedes. When he was 
called in to admire the king’s crown he turned it 
over man y tim es and examined it very’’ closely. 

“ Well, whaijdo _yi)u think of it ^ asked Hiero. 

“ The workmanship is indeed very beautiful,” 
answered Archimedes, “but — but the gold — ” 

“ The gold is all there,” cried the king. “ I 
weighed it on my own scales.” 

“ True,” said Archimedes, “ but it does not appear 
to have the same rich red color that it had in the 
lump. It is not red ^ all, b ut a brilliant yellow, as 
you can plainly see.” 

“Most gold is yellow,” said Hiero; “but now that 
ym^pe^joLit I do remember that when this was 
in the lump it had a much richer color.” 

“ Whatj^ljhe goldsmith has kept out a pound or 
two of the gold and made up the weight by adding 
brass or silver ? ” asked Archimedes. 

“Oh, he could not do that,” said Hiero; “the 
gold has merely changed its color in the working.” 

But the more he thought of the matter the less 



r«t( ««*(*« 




tUm'Mtiinh *iMiii«iiMH*l«*<M«»HmHM^I!*IH 


i I . I i ‘ i 






^4 


Well, 


what do you think of it ? 


asked Hiero.” 







32 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


pleased he was with the crown. At last he said to 
Archimedes, “ Is there any way to find out whether 
that goldsmith really cheated me, or whether he 
honestly gave me back my gold ? ” 

“ I know of no way,” was the answer. 

But Archimedes was not the man to say that any- 
. thing was impossible. He took great delight in 
working out hard problems, and when any question 
puzzled him he would keep studying until he 
found some sort of answer to it. And so, day after 
day, he thought about the gold and tried to find 
some way by which it could be tested without doing 
harm to the crown. 

One morning he was thinking of this question 
while he was getting ready for a bath. The great 
bowl or tub was full to the very edge, and as he 
stepped into it a quantity of water flowed out upon 
the stone floor. A similar thing had happened a 
hundred times before, but this was the first time 
that Archimedes had thought about it. 

“ How much water did I displace by getting into 
the tub ? ” he asked himself. “ Anybody can see 
that I displaced a bulk of water equal to the bulk of 
my body. A man half my size would displace half 
as much. 

“ Now suppose, instead of putting myself into the 
tub, I had put Hiero’s crown into it, it would have 


« EUREKA !” 


33 


displaced a bulk of water equal to its own bulk. 
Ah, let me see ! Gold is much heavier than silver. 
Ten pounds of pure gold will not make so great a 
bulk as say seven pounds of gold mixed with three 
pounds of silver. If Hiero’s crown is pure gold it 
will displace the same bulk of water as any other ten 
pounds of pure gold. But if it is part gold and part 
silver it will displace a larger bulk. I have it at 
last ! Eureka ! Eureka ! ” 

Forgetful of everything else he leaped from the 
bath. Without stopping to dress himself, he ran 
through the streets to the king’s palace shouting, 
“ Eureka ! Eureka ! Eureka ! ” which in English 
means, “ I have found it I I have found it I I have 
found itl ” 

The crown was tested. It was found to displace 
much more water than ten pounds of pure gold dis- 
placed. The guilt of the goldsmith was proved 
beyond a doubt. But whether he was punished or 
not, I do not know, neither does it matter. 

The simple discovery which Archimedes made in 
his bath tub was worth far more to the world than 
Hiero’s crown. Can you tell why? 


THIRTY MORE FAM. STO. — $ 


GALILEO AND THE LAMPS 



In Italy about 
three hundred years 
ago there lived a 
young man whose 
name was Galileo. 

Like Archimedes he was always thinking and always 
asking the j^asons for . things. He invented the 
thermometer and simple forms of the telescope and 
the microscope. H e made many important dis- 
coveries in science. 


34 


GALILEO AND THE LAMPS 


35 


One evening when he was only eighteen years 
old he was in the cathedral at Pisa at a bout t l^e 
t imeJ he lamps w^ere lighted. The lamps — which 
burned only oil in those days — were hua^-by long 
rods from the ceiling. When the lamplighter 
knocked against them, or the wind blew through the 
cathedral, they would s_ wing back and forth lik e 
pendulums. Galileo ngti^ d this. Then he began 
to study them more closely. 

He saw that thg ge^which were hung qn^ods of 
the same length swung back and forth, or vibrated, 
in the same length of time. Those that wjeie on the 
shorter rods vibrated much fagt^r than those o n the 
lon ger rods . A s Galileo watched them swinging 
to and fro he became much interested. Millions 
of people had seen lamps mo\jng in this same way, 
but not^o ne had ever thou g ht of .discovering any 
ncspfni (-nnnprtpd w ith the phenomenon. 

When Galileo w^nt _ to his room he , began to 
experiment. He took a number of cords of dif- 
ferent lengths and hung them from the ceiling. To 
the free end of each cord he fastened a weight. 
Then he set all to swinging back and forth, like the 
lajnps in the cathedral. Each cord was a pendu- 
lum, i ^t a&--each rod had bee n. 

He _fmind after long fitud y that w hen a O Qi:d-4va8-" 7 
inches lon g, it vibrated just sixty , times in a _| 




36 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


( minute. A cord one fqurth_as long vibrated just 
twice^as.fast, or once evg i^^ jiall second. IcLvibrate 
^thre^Jun^s as fast, or , once in every third part of a 
second, the cord had t o be only one ni nth of 39^^ 
mches in length. By experimenting in^ various 
ways Galileo at last discovered how to attach pen- 
dulums to timepieces as we have them now. ■ 

C Thus, to the swinging la mps in the cathedral, 
and to Galileo’s habit of thinking and inquiring, the 
world owes one orThe commonest and most useful 
of inventions, — the pendulum clock. 

You can make a pend ulum for yq urselfjith-a- 
co rd an? a weight of ~any kind. You can experi- 
ment with it if you wish; and perhaps you can 
find out how long a pendulum must be to vibrate 
once in two seconds. 


SIR ISAAC NEWTON AND THE APPLE 


Sir Isaac Newton was a great thinker. No other 
man of his time knew so much about the laws of 
nature; no other man understood the reasons of 
things so well as he. He learned by looking c losely 
atthings^nd by hardsi^dy. He was always t hink - 
in g, thinkin g. 

Alt hough he was one of t he wisest men that 
lived, vet he felt lhat he .kne3aL,but very little. Tbs. 
more he learned, the b etterjhg^ saw how much there 
was still to be learned. 

When he was a very old man he one day said : 

“ I seem to have been only like a boy playin g ^n^ 
the seashore. I have amused myself by ^ now _ an d 
then finding a smooth pebble-o r a pretty shell, but 
the g reat ocean of trut h still lies before me unknown 
and unexplored.” 

It is only the very igno rani ^haj hink themselves 
very wise. 

One day in autumn Sir Isaac was lying on the 
grass under an apple tree and thinking, thinking, 
thinking. Sud denly an appL^ thjit _^ had growa _ 
rjggj-xwir its branch fell to the ground by his side. 


38 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


“ What made that appleia ll ? ” he asked himself. 

“ It fell because its stem would no longer hold it 
td^ts branch,’’ was his first thought. 

But Sir Isaac was not satisfied with this answer, 
jv “ Why did it fall toward the ground ? Why should 
it not fall some other way just as we| l ? ” he asked. 

“ All heayy things fall to th^ground — but why 
do they? Because they are heavy. Th^is not a 
good reason. For then we may ask why is anything 
V heavy ? W hy is one thing heavier tjaan, a nother ? ” 
When he had once begun t o think about this 
d id noLstop until he had reasoned it all put^ 
Millions an d millions of people had s een apples 
fal l, but it was left for Sir Isaac Newton to^a sk why 
t hey f all. He explained it in this way: — 

Y “ Ev^ g^ object d raAKS^eyeiy o th object toward 

“ The more rnatter.an,^Qbject contains the Imr der 

y^he nearer an object is to another the harder 
it draws. ' ^ — 

“ The harder an object draws other objects, the 
heavier it is said to be. 

The earth is many millions of times heavier 
than an apple ; so it draws the apple toward it mil- 
lions and millions of times ^la^e^ than the apple 
Vcan draw the other way. 


Y- 


>c 


/( 


SIR ISAAC NEWTON AND THE APPLE 


39 


“ The earth is millions of times heavier than any 
object nearjg or upon jt^^surface ; SQ_it_ ^aws every 
such object toward i t. 

“ This is why things fall, as we say, toward the 
earth. ^ 

“ While we know that every object draws every 
ot her obje ct, we cannot know why it does so. We 
can only give a name to the force that causes this. 

“We call that force gravitation. 

“ It IS gravitation that causes the apple to falL 
(^I tis gra vitation tKat makes tilings fe a^e^ eight. 

“It is gravitation that keeps all things i n the ir 
p roper plac es..” 


Suppose there waS::jio such force as gravitation, 
would ary^apple fall to the gr ound 1 Suppose that 
gravitation did not draw objects toward the earth, 
what would happen .? 

To you who, like Sir Isaac Newton, are always 
asking “ Why.f^” and “ How.?” these questions will 
give something to think about. 


THE FIRST PRINTER 


I 

One evening in midsummer, nearly five hundred 
years ago, a stranger arrived in t he quai nt old_town 
of Haarlem, in the Netherlands. Th e people eye d 
hi m curiousl y as he trudged down the main street, 
and there were many guesses as to who he might 
be. A traveler in those days was a rarity in Haar- 
lem — a thing to b e looked at ^d talkedjLbiaut. This 
travel er was ^rtainly a _man x)£jiQ-great con s equence . 
He was dressed poorly, and had neither servant nor 
horse. He carried his knapsack on his shoulder, and 
was covered with dust, as though he had walked fa r. 1 

He stopped at a little inn close by the mark^ 
place, and asked for lodging. The landlord was 
pleased with his looks. He was a young man, 
bright of eye and quick of movement. Hemight 
hayejthe best roo m in the house. 

‘‘ My name,” he said, “ is John Gutenberg, and my 
home is in Mayence.” 

“ Ah, in Mayence, is it ? ” exclaimed the land- 
lord; ** and pray why _doLyQiiH£ave that place and 
come to our good Haarlem } ” 


40 


THE FIRST PRINTER 


41 


“ I am a traveler,” answered Gutenberg. 

“ A traveler ! And why do you travel ? ” inquired 
the landlord. 

“ I am traveling to learn,” was the answer. “ I am 
trying to gain kno\ykdge„by sedng the world. I 
have been to Genoa and Venice and Rome.” 

“Ah, have you been so far? Surely, you must 
have seen great things,” said the landlord. 

“Yes,” said Gutenberg; “ I have walked through 
Switzerland and Germany, and now I am on m v 
way to France.” 

“ How w onde r ful ! ” exclaimed the landlord. 
^“And now, while your supper is being cooked, 
pray tell me what is the strangest_thing j^oujiaye. 
seen while traveling.” 

“ The strangest thing ? Well, I hav e_seen^tower- 
ing mountains and th e gr eat sea; I have seen savage 
beasts and famous men; but ^o where have I seen 
anything stranger than the ignorance of the com- 
mon people. Why, th ey know bu t little more, than , 
their cattle. Th ey know _nQthing about the coun- 
Jtry. m which they live; and they have scarcely 
heard of other lands. Indeedjhey are ignorant of 
everything that has happened in the world.” 

“ I guess you are right,” said the landlord ; “ but 
what difference does it make whether th ey know 
niuch or little?” 


42 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

“ It makes a great differen(^,V answered Guten- 
berg, long as the common people are thus 

ignorant they are made the dupes of the rich and 
powerful who know more. They are kept poor 
and degraded in order that their lords and masters 
may live in wealth and splendor. Now, if there 
were only so me way to make books plentiful and 
cheap7 the poorest man might learn to read and 
thus gain such knowledge ^s woul d help him to 
better his condition. But, as things a re, it is only 
the rich ’^hp^c^a buy books. Every volume must 
be written careru llY JjV hand, and the cost of mak- 
ing it is greater than the earnings of ^ny com m.on 
man for a lifetime.’' 

“ Well,” said the landlord, “ we hjLve_a man. here 
in Haarlem who makes books. I don’t know how 
he makes them,' but people say that he sells them 
very^t:heap. I’ve heard that he can make as many 
as ten in the time it would take a rapid scribe 
to write one. He calls it printing, I think.” 

“ Who is this man ? Tell me where I can find 
him,” cried Gutenberg, no w^rniicb. ex cited. 

“ His name is Laurence — Laurent Jaonssen,” an- 
swered the landlord. “He has been the coster, or 
sexton, of our church ^ these forty years, and for 
that reason everybody calls him Laurence Coster.” 

“ Where does he live } Can I see him } ” 


THE FIRST PRINTER 


43 


“ Why, the big house that you see just across the 
market place is his. You can find him at home 
at an yJLime ; f or, si nce he_^gQt into this queer busi- 
n e^ss^oTm akilig books, he never goes out” 


II 

The young traveler Jps't no tim e in making the 
acquaintance of Laurence Coster. T behold.. man 
was delighted to meet with one who was interested I 
in his work. He showed him the books he had 
printed. He showed him the types and the rude 
l ittle pres s that he used. The types were ma de of 
pieces of wood that Coster had whittled out with 
his penknife. 

“ It took a long time to_niake.>..th6m,” he said ; 
“ but see Tiow quickly J can print a page with 
them.” _ 

He placed a small sheet of paper upon some ^ 
types which had been^rppej^ arranged. With 
great care he adjusted them all in his press. Then 
he threw the weight of his body upon a long ley^r- 
thak ope rated the .crud£L_machine. 

“ See now the printed page,” he cried, as he care- 
fully drew the sheet out. “ It would have taken 
hou rs t o write it witL-.a-^pen. I have printed it 
in as many- minutes.” 


44 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


Gutenberg was delighted. 

“ It was by accident that I discovered it,” said 
old Laurence. “ I went out into -the^.. woods one 
afternoon with my grandchildren. There were 
some beech trees there, and the little fellows wanted 
me to carve their names on the smooth bark. I 
did so, for I was always handy with a penknife. 
Then, while they were running around, I ^lit off 
s ome fine pieces of bark and cut the letters of the 
alphabet upon them — one letter on each piece. 
I thought they would amuse the baby of the family, 
and perhaps help him to remember his letters. So 
I wrapped them in a piece of soft paper and carried 
them home. When I came to undo the package 
I was surprised to see the forms of some of the 
letters distinctly printed on the white paper. It 
se k me t o thinking, and at last I thought out this 
whole plan of printing books.” 

“And a great plan it is ! ” cried Gutenberg. 
“ Ever since I was a boy at^achoxT I have been 
trying to invent so me such th ing.” 

He asked Laurence Coster a thousand questions, 
and the old man kindly told him all that he knew. 

“ Now, indeed, knowledge will fly to the^euds-of 
the earth,” said the delighted young traveler as he 
b^rk ±n inn. He could Scarcely wait 
to be gone. 


THE FIRST PRINTER 


45 


The next morning he was off for Strasburg. 

At Strasburg young Gutenberg shut himself up 
in a hired room and began to mak e sets of typ e like 
those which Laurence Coster had shown him. He 
arran^ji them in words and sentences. H e^ experi- 
m ented wiFh them "until he was able to print much 
faster than old L^rence hacTdone. 

Finally, he tried types of soft metal and found 
them better than those of wood. He learned to 
mix ink so it would not spread when pressed by 
the type. He made brushes and rollers for apply- 
ing it evenly and smoothly. He improved this - 
thing and that u ntil at last, he was able to do t hat > 
whi ch he had so Jong ^fesired — make a book so 
quickly and cheaply that even a po or ma n could 
affQ.rd_lQ_buy , it. 

And thus the art of printing was discovered. 


JOHN GUTENBERG AND THE VOICES 


One night John Gutenberg worked until very 
late at his press. He was printing a large folio 
edition of the Bible in Latin. For weeks he had 
given all his thoughts to this great work, and now 
he was completing the last sheets. He was worn 
out with fatigue, but proud of that which he had 
accomplished. He leaned his head upon the frame- 
work of his press, and gave himself up to thought. 

Suddenly from among the types two voices were 
heard. They were speaking in low but earnest 
tones, and seemed to be talking about Gutenberg 
and his invention. 

“ Happy, happy man ! ” said the first voice, which 
was gentle and sweet and full of encouragement. 
“ Let him go on with the work he has begun. 
Books will now be plentiful and cheap. The poor- 
est man can buy them. Every child will learn to 
read. The words of the wise and the good will be 
printed on thousands of sheets and carried all over 
the world. They will be read in every household. 
The age of ignorance will be at an end. Men will 
learn to think and know and act for themselves. 


46 



Suddenly from among the types two voices were heard. 




48 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

They will no longer be the slaves of kings. And 
the name of John Gutenberg, inventor of printing, 
will be remembered to the end of time.” 

Then the other voice spoke. It was a stern, 
strong voice, although not unpleasant, and it spoke 
in tones of warning. “ Let John Gutenberg beware 
of what he is doing. His invention will prove to 
be a curse rather than a blessing. It is true that 
books will be plentiful and cheap, but they will not 
all be good books. The words of the vulgar and 
the vile will also be printed. They will be carried 
into millions of households to poison the minds of 
children and to make men and women doubt the 
truth and despise virtue. Let John Gutenberg 
beware lest he be remembered as one who brought 
evil into the world rather than good.” 

And so the two voices went on, one claiming 
that the printing press would bless all mankind, 
the other saying that it would surely prove to be a 
curse. John Gutenberg felt much distressed. He 
did not know what to do. He thought of the great 
harm that might be done through the printing of 
bad books — how they would corrupt the minds of 
the innocent, how they would stir up the passions 
of the wicked. 

Suddenly he seized a heavy hammer and began 
to break his press in pieces. “ It shall not be said 


JOHN GUTENBERG AND THE VOICES 49 

of me that I helped to make the world worse,” he 
cried. 

But as he was madly destroying that which had 
cost him so much pains to build, he heard a third 
voice. It seemed to come from the press itself, and 
it spoke in tones of sweet persuasion. 

“ Think still again,” it said, “ and do not act 
rashly. The best of God’s gifts may be abused, 
and yet they are all good. The art of printing 
will enlighten the world. Its power for blessing 
mankind will be a thousand times greater than its 
power for doing harm. Hold your hand, John 
Gutenberg, and remember that you are helping to 
make men better and not worse.” 

The upraised hammer dropped from his hands. 
The sound of its striking the floor aroused him. 
He rubbed his eyes and looked around. He won- 
dered if he had been dreaming. 


IHIRTY MORE FAM. STO. — 4 


JAMES WATT AND THE TEAKETTLE 


A little Scotch 
boy was sitting in 
his grandmother’s 
kitchen. He was 
watching the red 
flames in the wide 
open fireplace and 
quietly wondering 
about the causes of 
things. Indeed, he 
was always wonder- 
ing and always want- 
ing to know. 

“Grandma,” he 
presently asked, 
“what makes the fire 
burn ? ” 

This was not the 
first time he had puz- 
zled his grandmother 
with questions that she could not answer. So she 
went on with her preparations for supper and paid 
no heed to his query. 



v> 



JAMES WATT AND THE TEAKETTLE 


51 


Above the fire an old-fashioned teakettle was 
hanging. The water within it was beginning to 
bubble. A thin cloud of steam was rising from 
the _spout. Soon the lid began to rattle and shake. 
The hot vapor puffed out at a furious rate. Yet 
when the lad peeped under the lid he could see 
nothing. 

“ Grandma, what is in the teakettle ? ” he asked. 

“ Water, my child — nothing but water.” 

“ But I know there is something else. There is 
something in there that lifts the lid and makes it 
rattle.” 

The grandmother laughed. “ Oh, that is only 
steam,” she said. “You can see it coming out 
of the spout and puffing up under the lid.” 

“ But you said there was nothing but water in the 
kettle. How did the steam get under the lid } ” 

“Why, my dear, it comes out of the hot water. 
The hot water makes it.” The grandmother was 
beginning to feel puzzled. 

The lad lifted the lid and peeped inside again. 
He could see nothing but the bubbling water. 
T he stearn _was not visible until after.., 
fairly out of the kettle. 

“ How queer ! ” he said. “ The steam must be 
very strong to lift the heavy iron lid. Grandma, 
how much water did you put into the kettle?” 


52 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


“ About a quart, Jamie.” 

“Well, if the steam from so little water is so 
strong, why would not the steam from a great 
deal of water be a great deal stronger.? Why 
couldn’t it be made to lift a much greater weight .? 
Why couldn’t it be made to turn wheels?” 

The grandmother made no reply. These ques- 
tions of Jamie’s were more puzzljn g than profitab le, 
she thought She went about her work silently, and 
Jamie s at still in his place and studied the teakettle. 

*««##* 

How to understand the pow er that is in steam, 
and how to make it do oth er thing s-iban rattle 
the lids of teakettles — that was the problem which 
James Watt, the inquisitive Scotch boy, set himself 
to solve. Day after day he thought about it, and 
evening after evening he sat byjiis. grandmother’s 
fireside and watched the thin, white vapor come out 
of the teakettle and lose itself in the yawning black 
throat of the chimney. The idea grew with hi m as 
he grew into manhood, and by long study he began 
to reason upon it to some purpose. 

“ There is a wonderful power in steam,” he said 
to himself. “There was never a giant who had so 
much strength. we only knew how to harness 
that power, tl^re_is no end^tp the things it might 


JAMES WATT AND THE TEAKETTLE 


53 


do for us. It would not only lift weights, but it 
would turn all kind^ of machinery. I t would d raw 
our wagons, it jwDuld push ou r ships, it would plow, 
an d sow, it w ould s pin and weav e. For thousands 
of yearns, men have been working alongside of this 
power, never dreaming that i t might be made the ir 
servant. But how can this be done ? That is the 
question.” 

He tried one experiment after another. H e failed 
a gain and again^ but from each failure h e learned 
something new. Men laughed at him. “ How 
ridiculous,” they said, “ to think that steam can be 
made to run machinery ! ” 

But James Watt persevered, and in the end was 
able to give to the world the first successful form of 
the steam e ngine. T hus, from the study of so simple . 
a thing as a common teakettle, the most useful of all 
modern inventions was finally produced. 


DR. JOHNSON AND HIS FATHER 


SCENE FIRST 

It is in a little bookshop in the city of Lichfield, 
England. The floor has just been swept and the 
shutter taken down from the one small window. 
The hour is early, and customers have not yet 
begun to drop in. Out of doors the rain is falling. 

At a small table near the door, a feeble, white- 
haired old man is making up some packages of 
books. As he arranges them in a large basket, he 
stops now and then as though disturbed by pain. 
He puts his hand to his side ; he coughs in a most 
distressing way ; then he sits down and rests him- 
self, leaning his elbows upon the table. 

“ Samuel ! ” he calls. 

In the farther corner of the room there is a young 
man busily reading from a large book that is spread 
open before him. He is a very odd-looking fellow, 
perhaps eighteen years of age, but you would take 
him to be older. He is large and awkward, with a 
great round face, scarred and marked by a strange 
disease. His eyesight must be poor, for, as he reads, 
he bends down until his face is quite near the 
printed page. 


54 


DR. JOHNSON AND HIS FATHER 55 

“ Samuel ! ” again the old man calls. 

But Samuel makes no reply. He is so deeply 
interested in his book that he does not hear. The 
old man rests himself a little longer and then fin- 
ishes tying his packages. He lifts the heavy basket 
and sets it on the table. The exertion brings on 
another fit of coughing ; and when it is over he calls 
for the third time, “ Samuel ! ” 

“ What is it, father ? ” This time the call is 
heard. 

“ You know, Samuel,’* he says, “ that to-morrow is 
market day at Uttoxeter, and our stall must be at- 
tended to. Some of our friends will be there to look 
at the new books which they expect me to bring. 
One of us must go down on the stage this morning 
and get everything in readiness. But I hardly feel 
able for the journey. My cough troubles me quite 
a little, and you see that it is raining very hard.” 

“Yes, father; lam sorry,” answers Samuel; and 
his face is again bent over the book. 

“ I thought perhaps you would go down to the 
market, and that I might stay here at the shop,” says 
his father. But Samuel does not hear. He is deep 
in the study of some Latin classic. 

The old man goes to the door and looks out. 
The rain is still falling. He shivers, and buttons 
his coat. 


56 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

It is a twenty-mile ride to Uttoxeter. In five mim 
utes the stage will pass the door. 

“ Samuel, will you not go down to the market for 
me this time ? ” 

The old man is putting on his great coat. 

He is reaching for his hat. 

The basket is on his arm. 

He casts a beseeching glance at his son, hoping^ 
that he will relent at the last moment. 

“ Here comes the coach, Samuel ; ” and the old 
man is choked by another fit of coughing. 

Whether Samuel hears or not, I do not know. 
He is still reading, and he makes no sign nor 
motion. 

The stage comes rattling down the street. 

The old man with his basket of books staggers 
out of the door. The stage halts for a moment 
while he climbs inside. Then the driver swings his 
whip, and all are away. 

Samuel, in the shop, still bends over his book. 

Out of doors the rain is falling. 


SCENE SECOND 

Just fifty years have passed, and again it ?s 
market day at Uttoxeter. 

The rain is falling in the streets. The people 


DR. JOHNSON AND HIS FATHER 


57 


who have wares to sell huddle under the eaves and 
in the stalls and booths that have roofs above them. 

A chaise from Lichfield pulls up at the entrance 
to the market square. 

An old man alights. One would guess him to 
be seventy years of age. He is large and not well- 
shaped. His face is seamed and scarred, and he 
makes strange grimaces as he clambers out of the 
chaise. He wheezes and puffs as though afflicted 
with asthma. He walks with the aid of a heavy 
stick. 

With slow but ponderous strides he enters the 
market place and looks around. He seems not to 
know that the rain is falling. 

He looks at the little stalls ranged along the walls 
of the market place. Some have roofs over them 
and are the centers of noisy trade. Others have 
fallen into disuse and are empty. 

The stranger halts before one of the latter. 
“Yes, this is it,” he says. He has a strange habit 
of talking aloud to himself. “ I remember it well. 
It was here that my father, on certain market days, 
sold books to the clergy of the county. The good 
men came from every parish to see his wares and 
to hear him describe their contents.” 

He turns abruptly around. “Yes, this is the 
place.” he repeats. 


58 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


He stands quite still and upright, directly in 
front of the little ojd stall. He takes off his hat 
and holds it beneath his arm. His great walking 
stick has fallen into the gutter. He bows his head 
and clasps his hands. He does not seem to know 
that the rain is falling. 

The clock in the tower above the market strikes 
eleven. The passers-by stop and gaze at the 
stranger. The market people peer at him from 
their booths and stalls. Some laugh as the rain 
runs in streams down his scarred old cheeks. Rain 
is it ? Or can it be tears ? 

Boys hoot at him. Some of the ruder ones even 
hint at throwing mud ; but a sense of shame with- 
holds them from the act. 

“ He is a poor lunatic. Let him alone,” say the 
more compassionate. 

The rain falls upon his bare head and his broad 
shoulders. He is drenched and chilled. But he 
stands motionless and silent, looking neither to 
the right nor to the left. 

“Who is that old fool?” asks a thoughtless 
young man who chances to be passing. 

“ Do you ask who he is ? ” answers a gentleman 
from London. “ Why, he is Dr. Samuel John- 
son, the most famous man in England. It was 
he who wrote Rasselas and the Lives of the Poets 



“The stranger has stood a whole hour in the market place.” 





6o 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


and Irene and many another work which all men 
are praising. It was he who made the great Eng- 
lish Dictionary^ the most wonderful book of our 
times. In London, the noblest lords and ladies 
take pleasure in doing him honor. He is the liter- 
ary lion of England.’’ 

“Then why does he come to Uttoxeter and 
stand thus in the pouring rain.?” 

“ I cannot tell you ; but doubtless he has reasons 
for doing so ; ” and the gentleman passes on. 

At length there is a lull in the storm. The birds 
are chirping among the housetops. The people 
wonder if the rain is over, and venture out into the 
slippery street. 

The clock in the tower above the market strikes 
twelve. The renowned stranger has stood a whole 
hour motionless in the market place. And again 
the rain is falling. 

Slowly now he returns his hat to his head. He 
•finds his walking stick where it had fallen. He 
lifts his eyes reverently for a moment, and then, 
with a lordly, lumbering motion, walks down the 
street to meet the chaise which is ready to return 
to Lichfield. 

We follow him through the pattering rain to his 
native town. 

“Why, Dr. Johnson!” exclaims his hostess; 


DR. JOHNSON AND HIS FATHER 6l 

“we have missed you all day. And you are so 
wet and chilled ! Where have you been ? ” 

“ Madam,” says the great man, “ fifty years ago, 
this very day, I tacitly refused to oblige or obey 
my father. The thought of the pain which I must , 
have caused him has haunted me ever since. To, 
do away the sin of that hour, I this morning went^ 
in a chaise to Uttoxeter and did do penance pub- 
licly before the stall which my father had formerly 
used.” 

The great man bows his head upon his hands 
and sobs. 

Out of doors the rain is falling. 


WEBSTER AND THE WOODCHUCK 



On a farm among the hills of New Hampshire 
there once lived a little boy whose name was 
Daniel Webster. He was a tiny fellow for one of 
his age. His hair was jet black, and his eyes were 
so dark and wonderful that nobody who once saw 
them could ever forget them. 

He was not strong enough to help much on the 
farm ; and so he spent much of his time in playing 
in the woods and fields. Unlike many farmers’ 
boys, he had a very gentle heart. He loved the 

62 


WEBSTER AND THE WOODCHUCK 63 

trees and flowers and the harmless wild creatures 
that made their homes among them. 

But he did not play all the time. Long before 
he was old enough to go to school, he learned to 
read ; and he read so well that everybody liked to 
hear him and never grew tired of listening. The 
neighbors, when driving past his father’s house, 
would stop their horses and call for Dannie Webster 
to come out and read to them. 

At that time there were no children’s books such 
as you have now. Indeed, there were but very few 
books of any kind in the homes of the New Hamp- 
shire farmers. But Daniel read such books as he 
could get ; and he read them over and over again till 
he knew all that was in them. In this way he 
learned a great deal of the Bible so well that he 
could repeat verse after verse without making a 
mistake; and these verses he remembered as long 
as he lived. 

Daniel’s father was not only a farmer, but he was\ 
a judge in the county court. He had a great love 
for the law, and he hoped that Daniel when he 
became a man would be a lawyer. 

It happened one summer that a woodchuck made 
its burrow in the side of a hill near Mr. Webster’s 
house. On warm, dark nights it would come down 
into the garden and eat the tender leaves of the 


64 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

cabbages and other plants that were growing there. 
Nobody knew how much harm it might do in the 
end. 

Daniel and his elder brother Ezekiel made up 
their minds to catch the little thief. They tried 
this thing and that, but for a long time he was too 
cunning for them. Then they built a strong trap 
where the woodchuck would be sure to walk into 
it ; and the next morning, there he was. 

“We have him at last! ’’cried Ezekiel. “Now, 
Mr. Woodchuck, you’ve done mischief enough, and 
I’m going to kill you.” 

But Daniel pitied the little animal. “No, don’t 
hurt him,” he said. “ Let us carry him over the 
hills, far into the woods, and let him go.” 

Ezekiel, however, would not agree to this. His 
heart was not so tender as his little brother’s. He 
was bent on killing the woodchuck, and laughed at 
the thought of letting it go. 

“ Let us ask father about it,” said Daniel. 

“ All right,” said Ezekiel ; “ I know what the judge 
' will decide.” 

They carried the trap, with the woodchuck in it, 
to their father, and asked what they should do. 

“Well, boys,” said Mr. Webster, “we will settle 
the question in this way. We will hold a court 
right here. I will be the judge, and you shall be the 


WEBSTER AND THE WOODCHUCK 


65 


lawyers. You shall each plead your case, for or 
against the prisoner, and I will decide what his 
punishment shall be.” 

Ezekiel, as the prosecutor, made the first speech. 
He told about the mischief that had been done. 
He showed that all woodchucks are bad and cannot 
be trusted. He spoke of the time and labor that 
had been spent in trying to catch the thief, and 
declared that if they should now set him free he 
would be a worse thief than before. 

“ A woodchuck’s skin,” he said, “ may perhaps be 
sold for ten cents. Small as that sum is, it will go a 
little way toward paying for the cabbage he has eaten. 
But, if we set him free, how shall we ever recover 
even a penny of what we have lost ? Clearly, he is 
of more value dead than alive, and therefore he 
ought to be put out of the way at once.” 

Ezekiel’s speech was a good one, and it pleased the 
judge very much. What he said was true and to 
the point, and it would be hard for Daniel to make 
any answer to it. 

Daniel began by pleading for the poor animal’s 
life. He looked up into the judge’s face, and 
said : — 

“God made the woodchuck. He made him to 
live in the bright sunlight and the pure air. He 
made him to enjoy the free fields and the green 

THIRTY MORE FAM. STO. — 5 


66 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


woods. The woodchuck has a right to his life, for 
God gave it to him. 

“ God gives us our food. He gives us all that 
we have. And shall we refuse to share a little of it 
with this poor dumb creature who has as much 
right to God’s gifts as we have.? 

“ The woodchuck is not a fierce animal like the 
wolf or the fox. He lives in quiet and peace. 
A hole in the side of a hill, and a little food, is 
all he wants. He has harmed nothing but a few 
plants, which he ate to keep himself alive. He 
has a right to life, to food, to liberty; and we have 
no right to say he shall not have them. 

“ Look at his soft, pleading eyes. See him 
tremble with fear. He cannot speak for himself, and 
this is the only way in which he can plead for the 
life that is so sweet to him. Shall we be so cruel as 
to kill him .? Shall we be so selfish as to take from 
him the life that God gave him .? ” 

The judge’s eyes were filled with tears as he 
listened. His heart was stirred. He felt that God 
had given him a son whose name would some day 
be known to the world. 

He did not wait for Daniel to finish his speech. 
He sprang to his feet, and as he wiped the tears 
from his eyes, he cried out, “ Ezekiel, let the wood- 
chuck go ! ” 


FRIAR BACON AND THE BRAZEN HEAD 


I. THE WIZARD 

More than seven hundred years ago there was 
a professor in the University of Oxford whose name 
was Roger Bacon. People called him Friar Bacon; 
for he was a monk, and in those days only monks 
and priests had anything to do with learning. 

Friar Bacon was the greatest scholar in all 
Europe. He knew so much more than his brother 
professors and monks that some of them said he 
was a wizard and got all his learning by the practice 
of magic. The common people looked upon him 
with awe ; and when they chanced to meet him, or 
saw him at a distance, they muttered a charm to 
ward off any evil spell that he might cast upon 
them. The friar cared but little for all the talk 
that was going on. He smiled, and continued his 
studies and experiments just as before. “ It makes 
little difference what they say,” he said. 

One day he made a mixture of saltpeter, char- 
coal, and sulphur, and invited several of the pro- 
fessors to come and look at it. What was their 
amazement, when he touched it with the smallest 

67 


68 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


spark, to see the whole mixture go up in air with a 
blinding flash and a fearful roar ! It was only gun- 
powder ; but people were then ignorant of that useful 
and fearful compound, and they would have nothing 
to do with it for yet two hundred years. 

“ We told you so ! ’’ shouted the frightened monks 
as they rushed out of the room. “ He is a wizard. 
No honest man could kindle a blaze so blinding or 
make a sound so fearful. Why, the very earth 
trembled, and the smoke was like that from a vol- 
cano. If this man is allowed to go on he will 
destroy us all.” 

The end of the whole matter was that they put 
him out of the university and said that they would 
have no more of his magical doings. And to make 
sure that he would let them alone, they locked him 
up in a narrow cell and gave him only bread and 
water, and little enough of that. Some even talked 
of fagots and fire as the very best things to cure a 
wizard ; but they dared not be too severe with the 
friar lest they should displease the Pope. 

Now the Pope knew Friar Bacon very well. In 
fact, the two had been students at the same school 
in Paris when both were young. They had formed 
a friendship at that time which was never to be 
broken. The Pope was a wise and broad-minded 
man, and he did not object to a little magic of the 


FRIAR BACON AND THE BRAZEN HEAD 69 


kind in which Friar Bacon delighted; and when the 
fame of Bacon’s learning came to his ears he felt 
himself honored by being the friend of such a man. 

The action of the monks and professors at Oxford 
was anything but pleasing to him. “ The foolish 
fellows ! ” he exclaimed. “ They would punish the 
wisest man of the age simply because he shows 
them their own ignorance.” And he commanded 
that the friar should be given his freedom and be 
permitted to go where he chose. 

The professors could do nothing but obey. With 
solemn looks, but with oily words on their tongues, 
they unbolted the door of the prison cell and bade 
their prisoner come out and enjoy the sunshine 
again. “We would not do you any harm for the 
world,” they said ; “ and to prove our friendship for 
you, we will pay your expenses to London, or even 
to Paris, if you wish to go there. The University 
of Oxford is but a poor place for a man of your 
talents. Another person has already been chosen 
to fill your chair.” 

This they said, hoping to get rid of him. 


II. THE MANUSCRIPT 


Friar Bacon was not ready, however, to go far 
from Oxford. In the tower of an old monastery 


;o 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 



near by he found a room which exactly suited his 
wants, and there he resolved to stay until he had 
finished some experiments that he wished to try. 
He had a learned friend, Friar Bungay, who came 
daily to visit him ; and his 
servant Miles kept the 
room in order and attended 
to all his wants. He 
was happier there, 
with his books 
and his instru- 
ments and 
his chemi- 


cals, than he could have 
been in London or in Paris. 

Every night, until long after the midnight hour, 
the light of the friar’s little lamp could be seen 
glimmering through the narrow window of his 
study and feebly twinkling in the darkness. The 
country people who saw it at a distance shook their 


FRIAR BACON AND THE BRAZEN HEAD 71 

heads, and whispered that the old wizard was busy 
with his magic again. And then they talked of the 
fearful things that had been seen and heard around 
the gloomy old tower. One man who had ven- 
tured quite close to it on a dark night had beheld 
blue flames dancing on the eaves and sheets of fire 
leaping from the roof. Another had heard dreadful^ 
shrieks and sharp, deafening sounds like thunder- 
claps issuing from the tower. A third had seen a 
star shoot from the friar’s window and lose itself 
far up in the sky. Such tales filled many a simple 
heart with awe. 

Within his room, surrounded by his books and 
his instruments, Friar Bacon was content to let the 
world think of him as it would. One day Friar 
Bungay brought to him an old Arabic manuscript 
which some wandering knight had picked up in 
Spain or perhaps in far-away Palestine. The two 
friends set to work at once to make out its mean- 
ing. It was yellow and creased and covered with 
many a mysterious sign, but Friar Bacon did not lay 
it aside until he had read almost every word of it. 

“ It is strange, very strange,” said he to Bungay, 
“ but I believe it can be done.” 

“ What I ” cried Bungay, “ can lifeless brass be 
made to speak and tell secrets that have been 
hidden from the wisest of men ? ” 


72 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


“ So says this manuscript,” answered Bacon ; “ and 
here are careful directions for making an instrument 
that will give the dead metal a tongue ; ” and he 
translated them again for his friend. 

“The thing seems not unreasonable,” said Bun 
gay. 

“ Let us try it,” said Bacon. 


III. THE BRAZEN HEAD 

For seven years the two monks toiled in secret. 
Every day the furnace which they had built in the 
tower glowed with white flame, and from the chim- 
ney top such clouds of black smoke issued as caused 
the hearts of the country folk to beat again with 
fear. Old kettles and precious plates and orna- 
ments gathered in foreign lands were broken up 
and melted. The brass hilts of old swords were 
thrown into the melting pot. Then came days upon 
days of molding and shaping and fitting. And at 
last the eyes of the two friends were gladdened by 
the sight of the object of all their labor. It was 
the head of an image of brass — faultlessly made, 
beautiful in every line, a wonder to look upon. 

Then began the true work of the magician. The 
head was fastened upon a pedestal of marble. Clock- 
work was placed inside of it. Wires were attached 


FRIAR BACON AND THE BRAZEN HEAD 


73 


to the tongue, the eyeballs, and other parts of the 
image. These were carried to mysterious jars of 
chemicals hidden away in a dark closet. Every- 
thing was done with care, strictly according to the 
directions given in the manuscript. 

When at last the work was ended, the two friars 
took turns in watching the brazen head day and 
night. For more than a month there was never a 
minute that one of them was not sitting before it, 
and listening for any sound that it might utter. 
Then, worn out by his watching. Friar Bungay be- 
came ill and Friar Bacon watched alone. But 
neither friars nor philosophers can live long without 
sleep, and on the fifth night he was wholly ex- 
hausted. 

“ If I can keep awake but twelve hours longer,” 
he muttered, “ the wonderful voice will speak and 
the great secret will be known.” 

But he could not keep awake. His eyes closed 
in spite of himself ; his head sank upon his breast ; 
he fell gently back in his chair, and was asleep. In 
a moment he roused himself only to do the same 
thing again. Over and over this happened, until at 
last it lacked but three hours of midnight. 

“ I can hold out no longer,” he sighed. “ Ah, if 
only Friar Bungay could come ! ” 

Then a new thought came into his mind. He 


74 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


rang a bell, and in a few minutes the servant Miles 
came sleepily in, carrying a heavy cudgel. 

“ Miles,” said the friar, “ will you do me a great 
favor to-night ? ” 

“ I v/ill do anything that I can, master,” answered 
Miles, rubbing his eyes ; “ but I can neither fly nor 
swim. What is it you would have done ? ” 

“ Do you see this brazen head ? ” said the friar ; 
and as he spoke he touched a secret spring which 
caused sparks of light to flash from the image’s 
eyes. 

“ Oh, master, you know that I see it,” said Miles, 
stepping back in alarm. 

“ Well, then, you must know that for nine and 
thirty nights Friar Bungay and myself have watched 
this head. Sooner or later, yes, perhaps even before 
another morning dawns, its lips will utter a secret of 
the greatest importance to every Englishman. And 
sad will it be for us if we fail to hear what is said.” 

“ Yes, master,” said Miles, trembling as he glanced 
about the room. 

“ You need not be afraid of the brazen head,”/ 
said the friar, as he touched another spring. “ It 
may do strange things, but it will harm no man.” A 
sound like rolling thunder filled the room, the 
image’s eyes flashed again, and a cloud of blue 
smoke came pouring from its nostrils. Miles turned 


FRIAR BACON AND THE BRAZEN HEAD 75 

white with fear, and would have run out at the door 
had not the friar held him by the arm. 

“ Do not be afraid,” he said. “ The head will not 
hurt you. It does these things at my bidding. If 
you do not touch it, it will remain quiet in its place, 
'just as it is now.” 

“ I see, master, I see,” said Miles ; “ and it is not 
myself that will be afraid of a collection of brass. 
Why, I have fought in forty battles in France 
and in Flanders, and never yet have I known 
fear.” 

“You are certainly a brave man. Miles, and that 
is why I have called you. The favor that I ask of 
you is this: Will you watch here for me for an hour 
or two while I get a little needed rest.? You know 
that Brother Bungay has failed me these five nights, 
and I cannot keep awake longer.” 

“ Is it to watch the house that you wish me .? 
There is certainly nothing hard in that. I will hold 
my good cudgel in my hand, and keep my eyes on 
every door and window so that no robbers will dare 
to come near.” 

“ But it is the brazen head that I wish you to 
watch. Keep your eyes on it, and if it should begin 
to speak, then call me quickly.” 

“ The brazen head, is it .? Sure, and it cannot 
hurt me, for you have said so. But you will let me 


76 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

keep the cudgel, in case the robbers might come, 
won’t you ? ” 

“ Oh, certainly. Miles.” 

“ Then trust me, master. Go and take your rest, 
and I will watch like a sentinel at his post.” 

“ I do trust you. Miles. Good night ! ” And the 
weary friar went sleepily to his chamber and threw 
himself upon his bed. 

IV. THE WATCHMAN 

Miles sat down close to the door with his cudgel 
in his hand. For a while he kept himself awake by 
looking about at the strange objects which his 
master used when carrying on his studies. They 
were not unknown to him, for he had seen them 
daily when serving the friar’s meals ; but now in the 
dim light of the flickering lamp they seemed to him 
like uncanny beings ready to pounce upon him and 
destroy him. He grasped his cudgel with a firmer 
grip, and looked at the brazen head. The face of 
the image seemed to be beaming with a kindly 
smile, and Miles felt much braver. 

“ The head cannot hurt me,” he said to himself ; 
“ and so why should I fear those other things ? No, 
no, I am not afraid.” 

In the farthest corner upon his right was the 
carefully closed cask in which was stored the won- 


FRIAR BACON AND THE BRAZEN HEAD 77 

derful black powder that had so frightened the 
Oxford professors. Miles crossed himself when he 
saw it, and drew a little farther away. Then his 
eyes rested on a strange piece of glass, round like a 
wagon wheel, through which the friar sometimes 
looked when studying the stars. On a table close 
by were flasks of all sizes and shapes, crucibles for 
melting metals, and instruments whose use was 
known only to magicians. While Miles was lost in 
thought about these strange things a slight noise 
caused him to look again at the brazen head. Its 
face still bore the smile that had braced his courage 
up, and he grew bold enough to speak to it. 

“ Ah, you head of brass,” he said, “ you are noth- 
ing but yellow metal. You were made of the old 
kettles and sword hilts that I brought to my master. 
How foolish for any one to waste his time in 
watching you ! How silly of my master to starve 
himself and me, in order to buy brass for your mak- 
ing ! A magician like him ought to know better. 
A snap of his Angers would bring us food and rai- 
ment At for kings ; but, instead, he spends his time 
with you, and we have nought but scraps to eat 
and rags to wear. Come, Master Brassy-head, out 
with your secret ! And let it be a recipe for my 
master to tell him how to get rich.” 

Just as he spoke the last words a bright flash as 


78 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


of lightning lit up the brazen face, and a low sound 
like muttering thunder filled the room. The mouth 
of the image opened, its lips seemed to move, and in 
a voice scarcely louder than a whisper, it uttered the 
words — 

“Time is! 


Miles grasped his cudgel very hard and stood 
close by the door, ready to run. But, as the image 
sat bolted fast to its pedestal, and moved not, he 
soon grew very brave again. 

“ Is that all you can say, old Brassy-head ? ” he 
asked. “ ‘ Time is,’ did you say Well, that would 
be fine news to carry to a scholar like Friar Bacon. 
You will have to tell a better secret than that before 
I waken him to hear it.” 

Again the thunder rolled, and a brighter flash of 
lightning filled the room. Again the mouth opened, 
the lips moved, and a voice like the rattling of a 
brass kettle muttered, — 

“ Time was I ” 


Miles put one hand on the door latch and with 
the other shook the cudgel at the image. 

“ Only to think,” he said, “ that my master and 
Friar Bungay should spend seven years in making 
a head which can tell no other secret than that! 
Why everybody knows that time was. Fie upon 


FRIA.R BACON AND THE BRAZEN HEAD 


79 


you for a brazen fraud, old Brassy-head ! If you 
would only speak a little Hebrew or Latin, I should 
begin to think that you really have a secret to tell, 
and I should waken my master to hear it.” 



Scarcely had he spoken when the room was 
lighted up with the brightness of day. The face 
of the image was no longer smiling, but it bore a 
dreadful frown. The floor swayed and trembled. 
The head appeared to lift itself from its pedestal, 
and in a voice of thunder it cried, — 


Time is past! 


So THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

Miles in his great fright fainted and fell in a 
senseless heap by the door. There was a dreadful 
crash, a blinding cloud of smoke, and then all was 
still. Friar Bacon, roused by the noise, rushed into 
the room. The brazen head lay on the floor, shat- 
tered into a thousand pieces. 

“ Miles ! Miles ! ” cried the distracted friar. 

The serving man slowly raised himself on his 
knees and groaned. 

“ Did the head speak ? ’* asked the master. “ Tell 
me quickly.” 

“Yes, master, he did speak,” muttered Miles, 
shaking with terror. “ But he said nothing worth 
remembering.” 

“ What did he say ? ” 

“ Why, at first he said, ‘ Time is,* and as that is a 
secret which everybody knows, I urged him to say 
more. Presently he spoke up again and said, ‘ Time 
was ’ ; and then, before I could run and call you, he 
roared out, ‘ Time is past,* and fell over against me 
with such a crash as to knock my senses out of me.** 

“ Oh, wretched fool ! ** cried Friar Bacon, angrily 
pushing the man from the room. “ Leave my sight ! 
Your foolishness has caused the wreck of all my 
hopes. The labor of seven years is lost. Had I 
been wakened, I would have set machinery in 
motion to prevent this ruin; and the brazen head 


FRIAR BACON AND THE BRAZEN HEAD 8 1 

would have told me how to do most wonderful 
things. It would have told me how to build a 
wall around England and make her the strongest 
of all nations. It would have told me — But now, 
all is lost. I will make no more experiments; I 
will burn my books; I will close my study. The 
rest of my life shall be spent, like that of any other 
monk, in the quiet cell of a monastery ; and when I 
die my poor name will be forgotten.” 


THIRTY MORE FAM. STO. — O 


“AS RICH AS CRCESUS^’ 

Some thousands of years ago there lived in Asia 
a king whose name was Croesus. The country over 
which he ruled was not very large, but its people 
were prosperous and fam^ for tlieir.wealth. Croe- 
sus himself was said to. be the richest man in the 
world; and so well known is his name that, tp_^s 
day, i jt is not uncommon to say of a very wealthy 
person that he is “ as rich as Croesus.” 

King Croesus had everything that could make 
him happy — lands and houses and slaves, fee 
clo thing to wear, and beautiful things to look at. 
He could not think of anything that he needed to 
make him more comfortable or contented. “ I am 
the happiest man in the world,” he said. 

It happened one summer that a great man from 
across the sea was traveling in Asia. The name of 
this man was Solon, and he was the lawmaker of 
Athens in Greece. He was noted for his wisdom ; 
and, centuries after his death, the highest praise 
that could be given to a learned man was to say, 
“ He is as wise as Solon ” 

Solon had heard of Croesus, and so one day he 


«AS RICH AS CRCESUS 


83 


visited him in his beautiful palace. Croesus was 
now happier and prouder than ^ever^beforeyior the 
wisest man in the world was his guest. He led 
Solon through his palace and showed him the 
grand rooms, t he fine carpe ts, the soft couches, 
t he ricb furniture , the pictures, the books. Then 
he invited him out to see his gardens and his 
orchards and his stables ; and he showed him 
thousands of rare and beautiful things that he had 
collected from all parts of the w^orld. 

jn_Jhe e vening as the wisest of men and the 
richest of men were dining together, the king said 
to his guest, “ Tell me now, O Solon, who do you 
think is the happiest of all men ? ” He expected 
that Solon would say, “ Croesus.” 

The wise man was silent for a minute, and then 
he said, “ I have in mind a poor man who once 
lived in Athens and whose name was Tellus. He, 
I^dojAt not , is the happiest of all men.” 

This was not the answer that Croesus wanted; 
but h e hid his disappointment -and asked, “Why 
do you think so?” 

“ Because,” answered his guest, “ Tellus was an 
honest man who labored hard for many years to 
TWr^up his children and to give th^m a good edu- 
cation ; and when they were grown and ab le tQ do 
for them selves, he joined the Athenian army and 


84 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


gave his life bravely in the defense of his country . 
Can you think of any one who is more de serving 
olThapp iness ? ” 

“ Perhaps not,” answered Croesus, half choking 
with _ disappointment. “ But who do you think 
r anks next to Te llu^^in happiness ” He was quite 
sure now that Solon would say “ Croesus.” 

“ I have in mind,” said Solon, “ two young men 
whom I knew in Greece. T heir father die d when 
they were mere children, and t hey were very poor. 
But they worked manfully to keep the house to- 
gether and to support their mother, ^lo was in 
feeble health. Year after year they toiled, nor 
thought of anything but their mothers comfo rt. 
When at length she died, they gave all their love 
to Athens, their native city, and nobly served her 
as^on g as they lived .” 

Then Croesus was angry. “Why’ 



“ th at yo u make me of no account 


my wealth and power are nothing } Why is it that 
you place these poor working people above the 
richest king in the world } ” 

“ O king,” said Solon, “ no man can say whether 
you are happy or not until you die. For no man 
knows w hat misfortun es may overtake you, or 
wh^. misery may be yours in place of all this 
splendor.” 


AS RICH AS CRCESUS” 


85 


Many years after this the re aros e in Asia a 
powerful king whose name was Cyrus. At the 
head of a great army he marched from one country 
to another, o j/erthro wing many a kingdom and 
a ttaching it to his great empire of Babylon. King 
Croesus with all his wealth was not able to stand 
against this mighty warrior. He resisted as long 
as he could . Then his city was taken, his beauti- 
ful palace was burned, his orchards and gardens 
were destroyed, his treasures were carried away, 
and he himself was made prisoner. 

“The stubbornnes s of this man Croesus,” said 
King Cyrus, “ has caused us much trouble and the 
loss of many good soldiers. Take him and make 
an example of him for other p etty kings who may 
dare to stand in our way.” 

Thereupon the soldiers seized Croesus and 
dragged him tg_Jh^ m^ket pk^ han dling him 
pretty roughly all the time. Then they built up 
a great pile of dry sticks and timber taken from the 
ruins of his once beautiful palace. When this was 
finished they tied the unhappy king in th e midst 
o f it, and one mn for a torch to set it on-fire . 

“ Now we shall have a merry b l^,” said the 
saya ge fdlows . “What good can all his wealth ' 
do him now ? ” 

As poor Croesus, bruised and bleeding , lay upon 


86 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


the pyre without a friend to soothe his misery, he 
thought of the words which Solon had spoken 
to him years before: “No man can say whether 
you are happy or not until you die,” and he moaned, 
“ O Solon ! O Solon ! Solon ! ” 

It so happened that Cyrus was riding by at that 
very moment and heard his moans. “ What does 
he say ? ” he asked of the soldiers. 

“ He says, ‘ Solon, Solon, Solon ! ’ ” answered 
one. 

Then the king rode nearer and asked Croesus, 
“ Why do you call oa , the name of Solon .? ” 
Croesus was silent at first; but after C yrus had 
repeated his question kindly, he told all^ about 
Solon’s visit at his palace and what he had said. 

The story affected Cyrus deeply. He thought 
of the words, “ No man knows what misfortunes 
may overtake you, or what misery may be yours 
in place of all this splendor.” And he wondered 
if some time he, too, would lose all his power and 
b p helple ss in the hands of his enemies. 

/ “ After all,” said he, “ ought not men to be merci- 
ful and kind to those w ho are in distress? Ijvill 
do to Croesus as I would have others do to me.” 
And he caused Croesus to be given his freedom; 
and ever afterwards treated him as one of his most 
honored frienda 


THE GORDIAN KNOT 


I 

In the western part of Asia there is a rich and 
beautiful region which in olden times was called 
Phrygia. 

The people of that country were related to the 
Greeks, and they were well-to-do and happy. Those 
who lived in the mountains had mines of gold and 
quarries of fine marble. Those who dwelt in the 
valleys had fruitful vineyards and olive orchards. 
Those whose homes were among the hills kept 
great flocks of sheep, the wool from which was 
the best in the world. 

For a long time these simple-hearted people had 
no king. Every man was willing to do what he 
knew was the best for all, and so there was no need 
of a ruler. But by and by, as they grew wiser, every/ 
man began to do that which he thought was best* 
for himself alone. The gold diggers ate the grapes 
and olives of their neighbors in the valleys. The 
vine growers killed the sheep of the dwellers in 
the hills. The shepherds stole the gold which 
the mountaineers had dug from their mines. And 
87 


88 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


then a miserable war began, and the land that 
had been so prosperous and happy was filled with 
distress and sorrow. 

There were still many wise and good men in the 
country, and these were much grieved at the sad 
state of affairs. “ It would be better,” said they, “ if 
we had a king as other people have. He would 
punish the doers of wrong, and would make laws 
for the good of all.” 

But they could not choose a king among them- 
selves. Each man claimed that he himself was the 
best fitted to be the ruler of the rest ; and, had it 
not been for one of the wisest among them, they 
would have ended by fighting one another. 

“Since we do not know what to do,” said this 
wise man, “ let us ask the gods. Let us send to the 
oracle of Apollo and make our troubles known. 
Perhaps it will tell us what to do.” 

All were pleased with this plan, and a messenger 
was sent to consult the oracle. 

The temple of Apollo was far across the sea, 
and many weeks passed before the messenger re- 
turned. Then all the best people from the moun- 
tains, the plains, and the hills met together near 
the chief town to hear what the oracle had told 
him. 

“ The oracle did not tell me very much,” said the 


THE GORDIAN KNOT 89 

messenger. “ It merely repeated these two lines of 
poetry : — 

** * In lowly wagon riding, see the king 

Who’ll peace to -your unhappy country bring.* 

I could not get another word from it.” 

The people were much puzzled by this answer of 
the oracle. They could not understand it, and yet 
they felt sure that it meant something. While all 
were standing around the messenger and wondering 
and talking, suddenly the loud creaking sound of 
wheels was heard. They looked and saw a slow- 
moving ox wagon creeping along the road. The 
wagon was loaded with hay, and on the hay sat 
a humble peasant with his wife and child. Every- 
body knew the peasant well. It was Gordius, the 
faithfulest workingman in all that country. His 
poor little hut, with its vine-covered roof, could be 
seen half hidden among trees at the foot of the hill. 

Suddenly, as the creaking wagon drew near, one 
pf the wise men cried out: — 

" In lowly wagon riding, see the king I ** 

And another completed the rhyme, — 

‘‘ Who’ll peace to our unhappy country bring.** 

The people heard and understood. With a great 
shout they ran forward and greeted the bewildered 


90 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

peasant. They ran in front of his wagon. He was 
obliged to stop in the middle of the road. 

“ Hail to our king ! ” said some, as they bowed 
down before him. 

“ Long live the king of the Phrygians! ” shouted 
others. 

“ My friends, what does all this uproar mean ? ” 
asked Gordius, looking down from his high seat on 
the hay. “ I pray you not to frighten my oxen with 
your noise.” 

Then they told him what the oracle had said, and 
declared that he must be their king. 

“Well,” he finally answered, “if the oracle has 
said that I am your king, your king I must be. 
But first, let us do our duty to the great beings 
that have brought all this about.” 

Then he drove straight on to the little temple of 
Jupiter that overlooked the town. He unyoked the 
oxen and led them into the temple. Just as people 
did in those days, he slew them before the altar, and 
caught their blood in a great wooden bowl. Then, 
while he prayed, he poured the blood out as a thank 
offering to mighty Jupiter. 

“ The wagon, too,” said he, “ will I give to the 
great Being by whom kings are made and un- 
made ; ” and he drew it into the inner part of the 
temple. Then he took the ox yoke and laid it 


THE GORDIAN KNOT 


91 


across the end of the wagon pole and fastened it 
there with a rope of bark. And so deftly did he 
tie the knot about the yoke that the ends of the rope 
were hidden and no man could see how to undo it. 

Then he went about his duties as king. 

“ I don’t know much about this business,” he said, 
“ but I’ll do my best.” 

He ruled so wisely that there was no more 
trouble among the people. The laws which he 
made were so just that no man dared to disobey 
them. The land was blessed with peace and plenty 
from the mountains to the plains. 


II 

All strangers who came to the temple of Jupiter 
were shown King Gordius’s wagon; and they ad- 
mired the skill with which he had fastened the 
yoke to the wagon pole. 

“ Only a very great man could have tied such a 
knot as that,” said some. 

“ You have spoken truly,” said the oracle of the 
temple ; “ but the man who shall untie it will be 
much greater.” 

“ How can that be ? ” asked the visitors. 

“ Gordius is king only of the small country of 
Phrygia,” was the answer. “ But the man who 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


92 

undoes this wonderful work of his shall have the 
world for his kingdom.” 

After that a great many men came every year to 
see the Gordian knot. Princes and warriors from 
every land tried to untie it ; but the ends of the 
rope remained hidden, and they could not even 
make a beginning of the task. 

Hundreds of years passed. King Gordius had 
been dead so long that people remembered him 
only as the man who tied the wonderful knot. And 
yet his wagon stood in the little temple of Jupiter, 
and the ox yoke was still fastened to the end of 
the pole. 

Then there came into Phrygia a young king 
from Macedonia, far across the sea. The name of 
this yorng king was Alexander. He had con- 
quered all Greece. He had crossed over into Asia 
with a small army of chosen men, and had beaten 
the king of Persia in battle. The people of 
Phrygia had not the courage to oppose him. 

“ Where is that wonderful Gordian knot ? ” he 
asked. 

They led him into the temple of Jupiter and 
showed him the little wagon, with the yoke and 
wagon pole just as Gordius had left it. 

“ What was it that the oracle said about this 
knot?” he asked. 


J 

' <-^V* 

t'-f- •■■^ ’ x‘ ^.VJ. • -i 


» 

t : . 






t»- «;.’ •' -■• rf/ 

, - 

•• • ' c <■.. ,. 

^ >- ••«'. .tiyl 

V ^ 


. -i*'* *'<<'■». >,’* ■^'» 1 

5 -v. 'f ^ 

■^' •■ '-':• .*-V.:-.'v ^'o'Tr^: 

t \ • A 

f'. i 



'“It is thus that I cut all Gordian knots.’” 






94 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


“ It said that the man who should undo it would 
have the world for his kingdom.” 

Alexander looked at the knot carefully. He 
could not find the ends of the rope; but what 
did that matter.? He raised his sword and, with 
one stroke, cut it into so many pieces that the 
yoke fell to the ground. 

“ It is thus,” said the young king, “ that I cut all 
Gordian knots.” 

And then he went on with his little army to 
conquer Asia. 

“ The world is my kingdom,” he said. 


WHY ALEXANDER WEPT 


Alexander with his little army overran all the 
western part of Asia. 

“ The world is my kingdom,” he said. 

He conquered Persia, which was then the great- 
est and richest country known. He burned the 
mighty city of Tyre. He made himself the master 
of Egypt. He built, near the mouth of the Nile 
River, a splendid new city which he called, after his 
own name, Alexandria. 

“ W hat lies west o f Egy pt ” he asked. 

“Only the great desert,” was the answer. “To 
the farthest bounds of tl^e earth there is nothing 
but sand, sand, burning sand.” 

So Alexander led his army back into Asia. He 
overran the country bevond the great river Euphra- 
tes. He crossed the grassy plains that li e alon g 
the shores of the Caspian Sea. He climbed the 
snowy mountains that seem to overlQolc..t]ie_WQrld. N. 
He g azed northward upon a desolate land. 

“ What lies bevon d ? ” he asked. 

^ “Onh ^ frozen marshes,” was the answer. “Mile 
after mile, mile after mile, to the farthest bounds 


95 


96 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

of the earth there is nothing but fields of snow and 
seas of ice.” 

So Alexander led his army back toward the 
south. He overran a large part of India. He 
subdjied one rich city after another. At last he 
came to almighty _riyer called the Ganges. He 
would have crossed the river, but his soldiers would 
not follow him. 

“ We go no farther,” they said. 

“ What lies to the east of this wonderful stream ? ” 
asked Alexander. 

X “ Only tangl ed forests,” was the answer. “ Mile 
after mile, mile after mile, to the farthest bounds 
of the earth there is nothing else.” 

So Alexander caused ships to be built. He 
l aunched them on another river called the Indus, 
and with his army floated down to the sea. 

^ “ W hat lies farther on ? ” he asked. 

“ OjilyJrackless waters^” was the answer. “ Mile 
after mile, mile after mile, to the farthest bounds of 
the earth there is nothing but the deep sea.” 

“ Truly, then,” said Alexander, “ all the inhabited 
world is mine. West, north, east, south, there is 
nothing m ore for m e_to ^onqu er. But, after all, how 
small a kingdom it is ! ” 

Then he sat down and wept because there were 
not other worlds for him to conquer. 


KING RICHARD AND BLONDEL 


I. KING RICHARD 

King Richard the Lion-hearted, with a great 
army of English knights and fighting men, went on 
a crusade to the Holy Land. The object of the 
crusade was to drive the Saracens out of Jerusa- 
lem and make it safe for Christian pilgrims to visit 
the holy places in that city. 

Richard was a brave warrior. He was afraid of 
nothing, and no savage beast was more fond of 
fighting. Never was he more happy than when in 
battle, knocking the heads of his foes with his huge 
battle ax and shouting the Norman war cry, “ God 
help us ! God help us ! 

Many were his exploits in the Holy Land. His 
deeds of cruelty and of daring were such that even 
his name was a terror to the Saracens. But with 
all his rudeness and roughness and savage love of 
bloodshed, he was not wholly bad. Now and then 
he would act so kindly, 6r show such gentleness of 
heart, that men would forget his grievous faults. 

Much fierce fighting did the crusaders find to do. 
The walls of Jerusalem were so well guarded by the 


THIRTY MORE FAM. STO. — 7 97 


98 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


Saracens that King Richard’s men could find no 
way to get inside. They had to encamp on the 
barren hills outside and wait for help to come. 

One morning Saladin, the noble leader of the 
Saracens, rode out of the city to see King Richard. 
The king went out from his camp to meet him ; and 
each was so pleased with the other that soon they 
were fast friends. Later in the day Richard rode by 
the side of Saladin into the city. Through the 
narrow, winding streets they passed until they came 
at last to the Holy Sepulcher, where men said the 
body of the Saviour had been laid. There they 
shook hands and parted. 

Soon after this Richard made a truce with the 
Saracens. He promised to withdraw his army from 
the Holy Land ; and it was agreed that there should 
be no more fighting until after three years, three 
months, three days, and three hours had passed by. 

With some of his bravest knights King Richard 
embarked on a small ship and sailed for home. 
At first the sea was calm and the wind wafted the 
king swiftly on his way. But after a few days a ' 
storm arose. The waves rolled mountain high. 
The ship was driven this way and that, until at 
last it was wrecked on an unknown shore. 

Most of the men who were with the king were 
drowned. It was as much as he could do to reach 


KING RICHARD AND BLONDEL 


99 


the land alive. He was bruised by the rocks and 
choked by salt water and chilled by the rushing 
wind. For the rocks and the water and the wind 
have no more respect for a king than for any other 
man. 

The country in which Richard found himself 
was wild and rough. Alone and quietly he made 
his way through woods and over mountains, not 
daring to tell who he was. For in those rude times 
no stranger was safe in a foreign land ; and a ship- 
wrecked king would have been a fine prize. So, as 
a poor pilgrim returning from the Holy Land, he 
trudged onward, looking very ragged and forlorn 
and keeping out of the way of people as much as he 
could. Now and then he found food and lodging 
at the hut of some poor woodsman, but often he 
had no shelter under which to rest at night. He 
did not know how far it was to England, yet he 
kept going toward the northwest, and every day 
he felt that he was a little nearer home. 

He had traveled in this way for some time, when 
he came to a more thickly settled country. There 
was a road, with now and then a field or a house by 
it. The few people he met looked at him in a way 
that he did not like, but he kept straight on and 
said nothing. 

One afternoon he came within sight of a strong 


100 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


castle with high towers and thick gray walls of 
rough stone. A little way from the castle there was 
a village of half a dozen houses, and at the entrance 
to the village there was a small inn. 

“ Whose castle is that ? ” he asked of a boy who 
was driving some cows along the road. 

The boy stared at him, as though he thought him 
mad, and then answered, “Why, everybody knows 
it’s the Duke of Austria’s castle.” 

Now, Richard had good reason for not wishing 
to see the Duke of Austria. But he could not 
well turn back, and he followed the bey and the 
cows down to the village. 

When they came to the inn they went through a 
wide gateway into a courtyard where some knights 
were exercising their horses. As luck would have it, 
one of the knights was the duke himself. He stared 
hard at Richard as he came trudging in behind 
the cows. 

“ Hello, you fellow ! ” cried the duke. “ Who are 
you, and what do you want here ? ” 

I am a poor woodcutter from the forest,” an- 
swered Richard, “ and I have come to offer you my 
services. There is no man in Austria who can 
handle an ax better than I.” 

“ Indeed ! ” said the duke, looking very keenly at 
his visitor. “ I think I saw you wield an ax once. 


KING RICHARD AND BLONDEL 


lOI 



It was made of twenty pounds of English steel. I 
saw you wield it, not among the trees, but against 
the heads of Saracens. Am I not right.?” 

Richard knew that he was discovered. The Duke 
of Austria had seen him a hundred times in the 
Holy Land, and would have known his face any- 
where. 

“Yes, you are right,” answered Richard. “As 
king of England I have often wielded such an ax, 
and I would fain wield it again when in the presence 
of the Duke of Austria.” 

“ Do you remember Ascalon .? ” asked the duke. 

“ I remember it well,” said Richard ; “ and I re- 


102 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


member the wall that I helped to build there with 
my own hands. I remember, too, the kick that I 
gave the Duke of Austria because he was too lazy 
to work on that same wall.” 

“ Very well,” said the duke. “ You shall now have 
that kick back with interest.” Then turning to his) 
men he cried, “ Ho, guards! Seize this fellow. Put' 
him in chains, and shut him up where the sunlight 
will never trouble him.” 

Richard, with his back to the wall, made a strong 
fight for freedom. But what could he, with his bare 
hands, do against so many armed men ? He was 
soon overpowered, and dragged away to the duke’s 
castle, where he was thrown into a dismal dungeon 
at the bottom of the tower. 


II. BLONDEL 

For more than a year the English people heard 
no tidings of their king. They knew that he had 
started home from the Holy Land. They had 
heard, too, of his shipwreck, and it was rumored that 
he was held as a prisoner in some distant land. But 
nobody knew where that land was. 

Now Richard in his happier days at home had 
trained up a young rhymer, or minstrel, whose name 
was Blondel de Nesle. Before going to the Holy 


KING RICHARD AND BLONDEL IO3 

Land, he had spent many a pleasant hour in Blondel’s 
company, listening to his beautiful songs. For the 
young minstrel had a rare, rich voice, full of the 
most charming melody; and no other singer in 
England or France could excel him. Sometimes 
Richard himself had composed little songs which he 
and Blondel sang together ; and a strong love, like 
that of two brothers, had sprung up between the 
minstrel and the king. 

Very sad was Blondel when no news could be 
heard of Richard. He wandered hither and thither 
about the king’s lonely palace, and would not open 
his mouth to sing for anybody. At last he said, “ I 
know that my master is a prisoner in a strange land. 
I will seek him ; I will find him ; I will save 
him.” 

With his harp in his hand he set out on his 
quest. He traveled through many lands in that 
part of Europe where he would be most likely to 
find his master. He made friends wherever he 
went. For in those days minstrels were welcome 
in every palace and in every hut, and Blondel’s 
wonderful voice delighted all who heard it. 

One day he stopped at a little inn by the edge of 
a great forest. It was quite near to a strong castle 
which was surrounded by high walls of rough, gray 
stones. 


104 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


“Whose castle is that?” he asked of the inn- 
keeper. 

“ It belongs to the Duke of Austria,” was the 
answer. “ But the duke has other and finer places, 
and it is now a year since he was last here. While 
he is away the Count Tribables is master of the 
castle.” 

Then Blondel inquired if there were any prison- 
ers in the castle ; for he asked that question in every 
place he visited. 

“ Only one,” answered the innkeeper. “ He is 
kept in the dungeon at the bottom of the tower. I 
know not who he is. The duke keeps a close 
watch upon him and feeds him well, and so I think 
he must be somebody.” 

That evening Blondel sang before the Count 
Tribables and his family in the gray castle. All 
who heard him praised his fine voice and loved him 
for his gentle manners. They begged him to stay 
a while ; for he had made the dreary old place mer- 
rier than it had been for many a day. 

The next morning Blondel wandered around to 
the great tower. He saw a slit in the wall which he 
knew was the only means by which light was let 
into the dungeon below. He sat down on a block of 
stone and tuned his harp. Then he began to sing 
a song which he and King Richard had sung 


KING RICHARD AND BLONDEL 


105 


together in the old happy days before his master 
had gone crusading: — 

“ Your beauty, lady fair, 

All view with strange delight ; 

But you’ve so cold an air. 

None love you as they might. 

Yet this I’m pleased to see. 

You love none more than me.” 

This was the first half of the song; and when he 
had sung it he paused. Then, far down in the dis- 
mal dungeon, he heard the clear but mournful voice 
of King Richard singing the rest : — 

“ My heart you’ll sorely wound 
If favor you divide 
And smile on all around. 

Unwilling to decide. 

I’d rather hatred bear 
Than love with others share.” 

Blondel sprang to his feet, his heart filled with 
delight. “ O Richard ! O my king ! ” he cried in 
ecstasy. Then he hurried away, to do what he 
could to secure his master’s liberty. 

He went to the emperor of Germany and to the 
king of France, and finally back to England, telling 
how Richard was cruelly kept in prison by the Duke 
of Austria. 

The king of France would have been glad to 


I 06 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

leave Richard in prison; for he was one of his 
bitterest foes. The emperor of Germany was but 
little more friendly ; yet many of his knights and 
warriors said that it was a shame to treat the king 
of England so meanly. 

Then the French king accused Richard of having 
tried to poison him when both were crusading in 
the Holy Land. Upon this, the emperor ordered 
that Richard should be brought out of his dungeon 
and made to plead his case before the high court of 
Germany. He hoped in this way to get rid of the 
troublesome prisoner. 

Richard pleaded his case so well that many who 
heard him wept. Pale and weak from his long im- 
prisonment, he told how the Duke of Austria had 
abused him. He showed how the French king had 
plotted to have him put to death. Then he spoke 
of the battles he had won in the Holy Land, shout- 
ing the war cry of “ God help us ! God help us ! ” 

The high court had nothing to gain by declaring 
him guilty. And so it was decided that he should 
be set free on the payment of a large ransom to the 
emperor and the duke. 

It was Blondel and Queen Eleanor, Richard’s 
mother, who helped to raise the ransom. With his 
harp and his fine voice, Blondel so wrought upon 
the feelings of the English people that they paid 


KING RICHARD AND BLONDEL 107 

more willingly the price that was required of them. 
They gave the value of one fourth of all the mov- 
able property that they owned, and we may well 
doubt whether any king was worth so much. Then 
Queen Eleanor herself carried the money to Ger- 
many and put it in the hands of the emperor and / 
the duke. And when Richard the Lion-hearted 
was at last a free man again, in his own country, it 
was Blondel who first welcomed him back. 


KING JOHN AND PRINCE ARTHUR 


I 

There was once a king of England whose name 
was John. He was a trifling, worthless fellow, and 
as mean a man as ever wore a crown. 

He was not the rightful king of England; for 
by the English law the crown ought to have gone 
to his nephew. Prince Arthur. But the prince was 
only a child, and in those rude, rough times the 
young and the weak had but little chance against 
the wicked and the strong. It was an easy matter 
for John to push the lad aside, take possession of 
his castles and treasures, and then proclaim himself 
king. 

He allowed Arthur to go to Brittany in France, 
and there the little prince lived for some time in 
a castle which had been his mother’s. John him- 
self often went to France; for in those days a large 
part of that country was ruled by the English king. 

The French king, Philip, w^as very jealous of 
John, and there was nothing that he wanted so 
much as to drive him out of his possessions and 
take them for his own. But he was a great coward, 

io8 


KING JOHN AND PRINCE ARTHUR 109 

and although he was always talking about making 
war upon King John, it was seldom that he found 
courage enough to do anything. One day as he 
was thinking about the matter, it occurred to him 
that it would be a good plan to persuade Prince 
Arthur to help him. So he invited the boy to 
come and see him at Paris. 

“ My dear young prince,” he said, “ how would 
you like to be king of England 

“ I should like it above all things,” answered the 
boy, “ for indeed it is my right. Had not my uncle 
taken that which belongs to me, I should even now 
be wearing the English crown.” 

“ How many fighting men do you think you 
could muster in case of war.^^” was King Philip’s 
next question. 

“From my own castle, perhaps five hundred,” 
said Arthur. 

“Well, then,” said Philip, “it will be an easy 
thing for you to win back your kingdom of Eng- 
land. Only do as I say, and all will be well.” 

And then he told the prince how he should arm 
his men and lead them out to fight against the 
soldiers of King John. 

“When the country people see that you are in 
earnest they will all hasten to help you,” said he. 
“ Soon you will have a large army, and all your 


1 10 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


uncle’s castles in France will fall before you. In 
the meanwhile I will cross the English Channel 
with my French army, and will attack King John 
in his own country. He cannot withstand both of 
us. He will give up everything that he has taken 
from you. And then you shall be king of England.” 

Prince Arthur was delighted with the plan, and 
he promised Philip that he would do what he could. 
But it is doubtful if he would have done anything 
had it not been for wicked men who wished to use 
him for their own selfish purposes. 


II 

It was a proud day for Arthur when he rode out 
at the head of his little army and marched away to 
fight for the crown of which he had been so wrong- 
fully deprived. It was a foolish undertaking, and 
hopeless from the start; and the men who were 
with the little prince ought to have told him so. 
But, no doubt, they had their own selfish ends to 
gain, and were willing that he should be deceived. 

He had never been happier than when he rode 
through the meadows that morning, the sunlight 
flashing from his bright armor, the tall grass rust- 
ling in the breeze, the birds singing by the road- 
side. Alas, he was never to be so happy again. 


KING JOHN AND PRINCE ARTHUR 


III 


The people did not join him on the road as he 
expected, and King Philip seemed to be in no 
hurry to send him help. But the little prince was 
brave and hopeful, and he led his army straight 
across the country to a small town where King John’s 
mother was staying. “ If you can capture the king’s 
mother,” said some of his advisers, “ the king will 
give up everything for her sake.” But he ought 
to have known that John had no such love as that 
for anybody. 

The town was easily captured by the prince’s 
followers ; but all the great people shut themselves 
up in the castle that stood close by, and dared their 
enemies to come near them. 

While Prince Arthur and his knights were besieg- 
ing the castle and trying to find some way to get 
inside of it. King John himself came to the rescue 
with an army many times larger than the prince’s. 

What could the prince do.? Some of his men 
turned against him and went over to the king’s 
army. With the rest he shut himself up in the town, 
and there, for several days, he defended himself like 
a young hero. But one night, when a dreadful storm 
was raging, a number of the king’s soldiers climbed 
over the walls and got into the town. Before the 
alarm could be given, they were masters of the place 
The prince was seized upon while he was in bed. 


112 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


Some of his knights were killed while trying to 
defend him. Others were made prisoners and after- 
wards thrown into dark dungeons, where they died. 



“ Come to my arms, my dear nephew,*' said King 
John when Arthur was led before him. “ Right 
glad I am to hold your hand again. You have 
played a lively game with your loving uncle, and 
your uncle will reward you as you deserve.” And 
with that he sent the prince to the castle of 
Falaise, to be kept there until further orders. 

“I’ll tell you what, Hubert,” said he to his head 
officer, “ that boy is the very bane of my life. I can 


KING JOHN AND PRINCE ARTHUR 113 

do nothing, think of nothing, but that he is always 
in my way. Do you understand me, Hubert.? You 
are his keeper.” 

“ Yes,” said Hubert, “ and I’ll keep him so well 
that he shall never trouble you again.” 

But Hubert was a gentle knight and had no 
intention of doing the boy any harm. He gave him 
the best room in the castle of Falaise and treated 
him as tenderly as though he were his own son. 
The prince, however, was very unhappy. He spent 
much of his time looking out of the narrow windows 
of his prison and wishing that he could once more 
see his dear old home in Brittany. 


Ill 

The king had hoped that Hubert would find means 
to put Arthur to death, and when he learned that 
the lad was still alive he was more troubled than be- 
fore. He called some of his friends together — men 
who were as wicked and worthless as himself — and 
asked their advice. 

“ What shall we do with that boy .? ” he asked. 
“ He is the torment of my life. So long as he is 
alive there will be men to plot and plan to make him 
king. How shall we be rid of him ? ” 

“ Put his eyes out,” said one. 

THIRTY MORE FAM. STO. — 8 


1 14 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

“ Send some one with a dagger to visit him,” said 
another. 

“ Throw him into the river to be king of the fishes,” 
said a third. 

King John liked the idea of the dagger. He 
told William de Bray, a Norman knight, that if he 
would stab the young prince he should be richly, 
rewarded with lands and gold. But Sir William 
turned on his heel and left the king, saying, “ I am 
a gentleman and not a murderer.” 

Then the king thought of putting out the boy’s 
eyes. He found two ruffians who were willing to do 
the deed for pay, and sent them down to Falaise. 
They took with them the king’s order, which they 
gave to Hubert: — 

“ You are commanded to burn the boys eyes out 
with red-hot irons. See that you fail not. The men 
who carry this to you will do your bidding in the 
matter” 

Hubert read it and then showed it to the 
prince. 

“ Arthur,” he said, “ I have a message from your 
uncle. I pray you look it over and tell me what 
you think of it ; ” and then he turned away while the 
prince read. 

“ Hubert ! ” said Arthur. 

“ Well, my prince! ” 


KING JOHN AND PRINCE ARTHUR 115 

“ Shall I tell you what I think of it ? I think 
that you will not burn out my eyes.” 

“ But the king commands, and I must obey. He 
will take my life if I refuse.” 

“Then do it, dear Hubert, to save yourself. But 
how can you.? These eyes never harmed you. 
They never so much as frowned upon you, nor 
never shall they. Is there no other way .? ” 

Hubert made no answer, but motioned to the 
ruffians to come in. They came, with the red-hot 
irons in their hands. The prince ran to Hubert 
and clasped him about the knees. 

“Oh, save me, Hubert! save me!” he cried. 
“ If it must be done, do it yourself ; but send these 
men away. I promise that I will be very still. I 
will not flinch when the iron burns me; I will not 
cry out. But do it yourself, kind Hubert.” 

The child’s distress and terror were more than 
the tender-hearted Hubert could endure. He sent 
the ruffians away. “ Give me the irons,” he said, 
“ I will do it myself.” And they, to tell the truth, 
were glad enough to be off without doing the 
barbarous deed. 

Hubert led Arthur to another part of the castle, 
into a room that was seldom visited. “ I would 
not harm your eyes for all the treasure that your 
uncle owns,” he said. “ But no one must know 


Il6 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

that I have saved you. The men must carry back 
false reports, and you must stay here in hiding. I 
have taken great risks in disobeying your uncle.” 

When the ruffians went back to the king and said 
that his orders had been carried out, he was very 
much pleased. He felt sure now that the prince 
was out of the way and would give him no more 
trouble ; and for a time all went well with him. 


IV 

At length Hubert was called away to fight in 
distant lands ; and Arthur was left in the lonely 
castle, not daring to stir out or to show himself be- 
yond the walls. One day a wicked talebearer who 
had been entertained and fed at Falaise Castle 
carried the news to the king that the prince was 
still alive and well. 

King John was furious. “ Hubert shall die for 
this!” he cried. Then he sent men to Falaise to 
find Arthur’s hiding place. They carried the boy 
far away to one of the king’s castles on the 
Seine River. There he was put in charge of a 
very cruel keeper. He was shut up in a narrow 
room above the river, where the only sounds to 
be heard were the lapping of the waves and the 
sighing of the wind. 


KING JOHN AND PRINCE ARTHUR 117 

One night the prince was wakened from his sleep 
by his keeper, who told him that friends were wait- 
ing for him at the water gate. He hastened to 
dress himself, and then followed the keeper down 
the narrow stairway to the door that opened out 
upon the river. The night was dark ; and he won- 
dered if Hubert had come to rescue him from his 
prison. He could see near the door the dim shadow 
of a boat with two men in it. They were muffled 
in long cloaks and were sitting very quietly. 

“ Step into the boat,” whispered the keeper. 

The prince obeyed, and sat down in the stern. 
Then the man who held the oars pushed the boat 
off into the stream, and it was soon floating swiftly 
far away from the castle. 

“Is that you, Hubert?” whispered the prince 
to the man who sat in front of him. The man 
loosened his cloak and lifted his face. Then, as the 
moon peeped out from behind a cloud, Arthur saw 
that it was his uncle and that he held a dagger in 
his hand. 

In the morning while the gray mists were still 
hanging above the river. King John and his boat- 
man were seen floating down the river towards the 
place where the king’s army was encamped. But 
Prince Arthur was not in the boat ; nor did any one 
ever see him again. 


KING JOHN AND THE MAGNA CHARTA 


King John was so selfish and cruel that all the 
people in his kingdom both feared and hated him. 

One by one he lost the dominions in France 
which the former kings of England had held. 
Men called him Lackland, because in the end he 
had neither lands nor castles that he could right- 
fully call his own. 

He robbed his people. He quarreled with his 
knights and barons. He offended all good men. 
He formed a plan for making war against King 
Philip of France, and called upon his barons to 
join him. When some of them refused, he burned 
their castles and destroyed their fields. 

At last the barons met together at a place called 
St. Edmundsbury to talk about their grievances. 
“ Why should we submit to be ruled by such a 
king.? ” said some of the boldest. But most of them 
were afraid to speak their minds. 

Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
was with them, and there was no bolder friend of 
liberty than he. He made a stirring speech that 
gave courage even to the most cowardly. 

ii8 



in writing — in the form of a great charter — and 
require the king to sign it. So shall it be to you 
and your children a safeguard forever against the 
injustice of unworthy rulers.” 

The barons were astonished at the boldness of 
this speech. Some of them shrank back in fear, 


KING JOHN AND THE MAGNA CHARTA 119 


“ Are you men } ” he said. “ Why then do you 
submit to this false-hearted king.? Stand up and 
declare your freedom. Refuse to be the slaves 
of this man. Demand the rights and privileges 
that belong to you as free men. Put this demand 


120 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


but the bravest among them showed by their looks 
and gestures that they were ready to make a bold 
stand for liberty. 

“ Come forward ! ” cried Stephen Langton. “ Come, 
and swear that you will never rest until King John 
has given you the rights that are yours. Swear that 
you will have the charter from his hand, or that 
you will wage war upon him to the very death.” 

Never before had Englishmen heard such a 
speech. The barons took the oath which Stephen 
Langton prescribed. Then they gathered their 
fighting men together and marched upon London. 
The cowardly king was frightened. 

“ What do these men want ? ” he asked. 

They sent him word that they wanted their 
rights as Englishmen, and that they would never 
rest until he had given them a charter of liberties 
signed by his own hand. 

“ Oh, well ! If that is all, you shall surely have 
it,” he said. 

But he put them off with one excuse and another. 
He sent a messenger to Rome to ask the Pope 
to help him. He tried, by fine promises, to 
persuade Stephen Langton to abandon the cause 
he had undertaken. But no one knew the false- 
ness of his heart better than the Pope and the 
Archbishop of Canterbury. 


KING JOHN AND THE MAGNA CHARTA 


12 


The people from all parts of the country now 
came and joined the army of the barons. Of all 
the knights in England, only seven remained true 
to the king. 

The barons made out a list of their demands; 
and Stephen Langton carried it to the king. 
“These things we will have,’^ they said; “and 
there shall be no peace until you grant them.” 

Oh, how angry was King John! He raved 
like a wild beast ; he clenched his fists ; he stamped 
upon the floor. But he saw that he was help- 
less. At last he said that he would sign the 
charter at such time and place as the barons might 
name. 

“Let the time be the 15th of June,” they said, 
“and let the place be Runnymede.” 

Now Runnymede was a green meadow not far 
from the city of London, and thither the king 
went with his few followers. There he was met 
by the barons, with an army of determined men 
behind them. 

The charter which Stephen Langton and his 
friends had drawn up was spread out before the 
king. He was not a scholar, and so it was read 
to him, line by line. It was a promise that the 
people should not be oppressed; that the rights 
of the cities and boroughs should be respected; 


I 22 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


that no man should be imprisoned without a fair 
trial ; that justice should not be delayed or denied 
to any one. 

Pale with anger, the king signed the charter, and 
then rode back to his castle at Windsor. As soon 
as he was in his own chamber he began to rave 
like a madman. He rolled on the floor ; he beat the 
air with his fists ; he gnawed sticks and straws ; he 
foamed at the mouth ; he cursed the barons and the 
people for treating their king so badly. 

But he was helpless. The charter was signed — 
the Magna Charta, to which Englishmen still 
point as the first safeguard of their rights and 
liberties. 

As might have been expected, it was not long 
before John tried to break all his promises. The 
barons made war upon him, and never again did 
he see a peaceful day. His anger and anxiety 
caused him to fall into a fever which nothing 
could cure. At last, despised and shunned as he 
deserved to be, he died. I doubt if there was an 
eye in England that wept for him. 


FREDERICK BARBAROSSA 


I 

Three score and nine years old was the red- 
bearded king, Frederick Barbarossa. He was by 
right the master of Germany. He had subdued 
Italy and had been crowned in the imperial city 
of Rome. Throughout Europe his name was known 
and feared ; in his own country he was the hero of 
heroes. 

He might have ended his days in quiet and peace, 
but such was not the wish of the iron-hearted 
warrior. War was his chosen pastime; war was 
his delight; and the glory of his country was his 
ambition. 

From the Holy Land, far over the sea, a call for 
help was sounded. The Saracens of the desert had 
captured Jerusalem; they had seized upon the Holy 
Sepulcher, so dear to every Christian heart; the 
sacred banner of the cross had been trailed in the 
dust. 

Throughout Europe there was great alarm. 
Devout men went from land to land preaching a 
crusade for the delivery of the holy places. Chris- 


123 


124 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


tian princes raised mighty armies and, crossing the 
seas, fought bravely to drive the unbelieving Sara- 
cens back to their native deserts. 

At such a time could Frederick Barbarossa 
remain idle at home ? Could he rest quietly who 
had spent fifty years in the turmoil of war.? As 
well could the mountain torrent stand still on the 
brow of a precipice. He sounded the word of com- 
mand; he put himself at the head of his armed 
hosts ; he led them forth to the defense of the Holy 
Land. Neither mountains nor seas nor sun nor 
storm delayed his march; and dismay filled the 
hearts of the Saracens when they heard of his 
coming. 

On a day in early spring his army arrived 
upon the banks of a broad stream in Asia Minor. 
The land of the Saracens was on the farther side ; 
the banners of the Saracen army were seen in the 
distance. But the stream was deep and rapid, fed 
by ice-cold torrents from the melting snows of the 
mountains. There was neither ferry nor ford ; and 
the soldiers paused, fearing to go forward. 

Then Frederick rode up and down upon his 
prancing war steed. A thousand knights, clad in 
glittering suits of mail, were behind him. They 
were the flower of Germany, the bravest and best 
of the heroes of the Rhineland. The emperor’s 


FREDERICK BARBAROSSA 


125 


long beard streamed in the wind like the tail of a 
flaming red comet. His gleaming sword flashed 
like lightning as he waved it above his head. His 
voice was like rolling thunder as he turned in his 
saddle and called to his eager followers. 



“ Beyond this stream,” cried he, “ lies the goal 
towards which we have been pressing. I see the 
banners of the Saracens upon the hill tops. I hear 
their cries of defiance. Even now I smell the 
battle, and see the enemy fleeing before us. Why 
do we pause here? Let every brave man follow 


126 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


He turned his horse quickly and plunged into 
the stream. His thousand mailed knights upon 
their impatient horses followed him. The roaring 
waters leaped high to meet them. Horsemen and 
steeds battled bravely with the flood. They were 
borne down by the torrent; their heavy armor 
dragged them to the bottom ; not one was able to 
reach the farther shore. 

Frederick Barbarossa was the last to be over- 
come. With the strength of a giant he fought his 
way to the middle of the stream. Then a great 
wave seized upon him. It hurled him from his 
steed, and bore him helpless along in the trough of 
the rushing current. The foot soldiers, watching 
from the shore, soon lost sight of the hero. The 
last they saw of him was his red beard stream- 
ing far behind, and his glittering sword, which he 
still held upright. 

They watched until there was no longer any 
sign of armored knight or warrior king, for the 
waters had closed over all. Then, as if moved by 
a single thought, they cried out in dismay and 
grief; they wept for their lost leader; they bewailed 
their own hard fate, thus left without guide or com- 
mander, in a strange and unfriendly land. Strong 
men gave way to despair, and brave warriors who 
feared no danger were overcome with sorrow . 


FREDERICK BARBAROSSA 


127 


As they ran in confusion hither and thither, 
shrieking and lamenting, a wonderful vision ap- 
peared to them. A holy monk, clad in long robes 
and holding a crucifix in his hand, stood upon the 
river bank at the spot from which Frederick the 
hero had leaped into the waves. He beckoned to 
them to listen. 

“ Why do you weep for your lost leader ? ” he 
said. “ He is not dead. He has gone back to his 
own country and yours — to Germany ; and with 
him are his mailed knights. In the Kyffhauser 
Mountain, in the great hall of the immortals, Fred- 
erick Barbarossa rests with his chosen heroes. He 
will sleep there until the eagles shall cease to fly 
around the mountain peaks. He will rest there 
until the time is ripe for the doing of mighty 
deeds. Then the bell shall toll the hour, the 
trumpet shall sound, and he will ride forth with 
his mailed knights to conquer the world. Weep 
no more; but return to your fatherland to wait 
for the day and the hour when your warrior king 
shall call you ! ” 

And having spoken these words the strange monk 
vanished. 

“ Let us obey him and return to our homes,” was 
the cry. But, alas, there were few in that great host 
who would ever see their fatherland again. 


128 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


n 

Days passed and years and circling centuries, 
but no man knew where to find the hall of the 
immortals in which Frederick Barbarossa was sleep- 
ing with his chosen heroes. 

When half a thousand years had gone by, a shep- 
herd chanced one day to wander into a lonely glen 
far up the side of the Kyffhauser Mountain. A 
sheep had strayed from the flock and he had traced 
it thither, to a part of the mountain which he had 
never seen before. Suddenly the path which he was 
following ended. In the rocky wall before him he 
saw a narrow opening, like a doorway, half hidden 
by vines and overhanging boughs. Was this a cave, 
and could the stray sheep have wandered into it ? 

He peered through the doorway. It opened 
into a long, narrow passage, and beyond the end of 
the passage the shepherd thought he saw the sun- 
light glimmering among green trees. 

, “ Ah, my stray lamb,” he said, “ you have found 

your way to new pastures, I see. I will follow you 
and learn what sort of place it is.” 

He went boldly in, thinking that the passage 
would open out into a sunny glen on the other side 
of the mountain. The way was long, and for a while 
he trudged carelessly along whistling a gay tune. 


FREDERICK BARBAROSSA 


129 


Then he began to sing in clear, joyous tones a little 
song that he himself had composed : — 

“ A throstle in a linden tree 
Sings tir-ra, lir-ra, lir-ra ; 

He sings for you, he sings for me, 

And he sings tir-ra, lir-ra. 

" All day I watch my lambs and sheep. 

And whistle tir-ra, lir-ra ; 

’Tis better far to laugh than weep. 

So I sing tir-ra, lir-ra. 

** At home my loved ones wait for me. 

While I sing tir-ra, lir-ra ; 

And when at eve ” 

The singing stopped suddenly. The shepherd 
had reached the end of the passage, and the sight 
which he saw almost caused him to faint. He was 
standing in the door of a broad hall, the roof of 
which was upheld by columns of green marble. 
The walls and the floor were inlaid with sparkling 
jewels, and it was the light from these, reflected 
from the green columns, that the shepherd had mis- 
taken for sunlight among green trees. 

At a marble table in the center of the hall sat 
Frederick Barbarossa. His head was resting upon 
his hands ; his face was beaming with the light of 
other days; his red beard had grown through the 
table and lay in long, wavy masses upon the floor. 
Ranged along the wall on either side of the king 

THIRTY MORE FAM. STO. — 9 


130 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

sat a thousand mail-clad warriors. Beside them 
were their arms, glittering bright as on the day 
when they set out for the Holy Land. The hand 
of sleep was upon them all. They breathed softly ; 
they dreamed of war and victory; the smile of 
:*i:riumph was on their faces. Long time had they 
waited there for the word that was to lead them forth. 

The coming of the shepherd, singing his joyous 
song, had disturbed the king. Slowly he raised 
his head ; he opened his eyes ; he looked around 
upon his sleeping heroes. Then he cried in tones 
that echoed through the mountains : “ Comrades ! 
Comrades ! ” 

The warriors awoke and leaped to their feet ; 
they seized their lances and their swords; their 
armor rattled like the sudden bursting of thunder 
when a storm rages among the hills. A hum of 
joy ran through the hall. 

“ Do the eagles still circle above the mountain 
peaks } ” asked Barbarossa, raising his sword toward 
the sparkling roof of the hall. 

And a voice which seemed far, far away, echoed, 
“ The eagles still circle above the mountain peaks ! ” 

The shadows again settled upon the face of the 
king. He raised his hand to silence the awakened 
warriors. “ Sleep on, comrades,” he said ; “ the hour 
has not yet come.” 


FREDERICK BARBAROSSA 131 

With one accord they laid their weapons aside ; 
the light of joy faded from their faces ; they sank 
upon the ground ; with closed eyes they slept as 
soundly as before. 

The king remained awake for a little while. 
Then, with a sigh, he again rested his elbows upon 
the marble table. He leaned his head upon his 
hand. His fiery beard trailed upon the floor; his 
face beamed bright as when he was young; he 
slumbered, waiting for the appointed hour. 

Strange, weird sounds were heard in the great 
hall. The wind whistled through the crevices in 
the rocks; it roared in the dome-shaped roof; it 
shrieked around the figures of the sleeping war- 
riors. Voices of unseen beings were echoed back 
and forth, from wall to wall and from column to 
column. Then soft music filled the air and 
soothed the slumbering heroes, driving every 
harsher sound from the enchanted hall. 

During all this time the shepherd stood entranced, 
without the power to move or speak. How he 
escaped from the place he never knew. But when 
he came to himself he was lying on the grass in the 
meadow where he was accustomed to keep his flock, 
and his sheep were quietly feeding around him. 


THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK 


There was once a king of France so splendid 
and powerful that he has ever since been called 
the Grand Monarch. His name was Louis, and 
as there had been thirteen kings of that name 
before him, he is known in history as Louis the 
Fourteenth. 

Now this grand King Louis had many fine 
palaces and strong castles. In his palaces was 
everything that could make life joyous and gay. 
In some of his castles there were gloomy prisons 
where men whom he did not like were shut up. 
One of these prison castles was on a small island 
called Sainte Marguerite. A dark and lonely 
place it was, built close by the shore of the sea. 
The prisoners gazing out of the narrow windows 
saw only the water and the sky; and the only 
sound they heard was that of the waves lapping on 
the cold stones. 

The king was only a boy with long curls brush- 
ing his cheeks, when a strange man was put in this 
prison. Who he was, or why he was there, nobody 
could tell. The secret was known only to the king 
132 


THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK 


133 


and perhaps two or three others. No one was 
allowed to talk with him. No one ever saw his 
face ; for this mysterious prisoner always wore 
a black mask which men said was made of iron. 
There were holes in the mask through which he 
could see, and the part over his mouth could be 
lifted up when he ate or drank ; but never, by day 
or by night, was he allowed to take it off. 

Men sailing in boats near the castle sometimes 
saw the strange prisoner at his iron-barred window. 
Often he would stand there for hours, gazing out 
upon the sea. Sometimes he was seen sitting by 
the window and playing sad tunes on a guitar. But 
never for a moment was his face uncovered. 

“ Who is this man in the iron mask ? ” people 
asked. Nobody could tell. Some guessed that he 
was the king’s cousin who had done some rash 
things and offended the grand Louis. Some said 
that he was the king’s own twin brother. Others 
said that perhaps he was a certain English prince 
whom his people wished to keep out of the way. 
But the secret was well kept, and nobody to this 
day knows who the mysterious prisoner was. 

Perhaps the prisoner tried to escape. Perhaps 
he tried to remove the iron mask. But, if so, he 
was guarded so closely that no one outside of the 
castle ever heard about it. 


134 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


One day as a fisherman was rowing underneath 
the prison window, something round and bright fell 
into his boat. He picked it up. It was a beautiful 
silver plate, with words written all over the under 
side of it. The writing seemed to have been 
scratched there with the point of a knife. It was 
'bright, as though it had just been done. 

The fisherman could not read. Poor people did 
not read in those days. But he knew that the plate 
came from the man in the iron mask. The jailer 
often served the prisoner’s dinner in silver dishes. 
The prisoner had hidden one of the plates, and 
when he was alone had written his history on it. 
Then he had thrown it out of the window, hoping 
that some pitying friend might find it. 

The fisherman was frightened almost out of his 
wits as he looked at the plate. What if the king 
should hear about it ! Would he not think that the 
fisherman was plotting with the prisoner ? Many a 
poor fellow had been shut up in a dungeon for less 
than that. He rowed to the shore as quickly as 
possible. He ran to the castle and called for the 
governor. The governor was astonished when he 
saw the plate. 

“ Where did you get this ? ” he asked. 

The fisherman told him how it had fallen into his 
boat. 


THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK 


135 


“ Did you read what is written here ? ” 

“ No, sir. Such men as I do not know how to 
read ; ” and the fisherman trembled as he said it. 

“ Has any one else seen the plate ? ” asked the 
governor. 

“No one, sir. I held it under my coat and came 
to the castle as quickly as possible.'* 

When the governor had made sure that the man 
was telling the truth, he sent him away. “ You are 
lucky,” he said, “ not to know how to read. For if 
you had learned the secrets written on this plate, 
you would never have gone out of this castle.” 

After that, the man in the iron mask was seen 
less often at the window. The tunes which he 
played on the guitar were sadder than before. He 
became quieter day by day, and at length fell sick. 

A doctor was brought to the prison to see what 
could be done for him, and it was this doctor who 
afterwards wrote an account of the man in the 
mask. But he never learned the secret of the pris- 
oner’s name, and he never saw his face. 

“ He was a fine-looking man, with a dark skin and 
a very pleasant voice,” said the doctor. “ He never 
spoke of himself and never complained.” 

At last, after having been kept in prison twenty-five 
years, the man in the iron mask died. His name and 
the story of his life will forever remain a mystery. 


THE FALL OF TROY 


I. THE LONG SIEGE 

On the farther side of the -^gean Sea there once 
flourished a fair, rich city, the most famous in the 
world. This city was called Ilium by its own 
people, but in story and song it is known as Troy. 
It stood on a sloping plain some distance back from 
the shore, and was surrounded by high, strong walls 
which no enemy could scale or batter down. Within 
the gates were the homes of the people, houses great 
and small, a fine stone palace for the king and his 
sons, and a beautiful temple of Athene, the guardian 
of the city. Outside the walls were gardens and 
farms and woodlands ; and in the distance rose the 
green slopes and rocky heights of Mount Ida. 

Troy was a very old city. For hundreds of years 
it had been growing in power and pride, and no man 
knew when or how the foundations of its greatness 
had been laid. “ Ilium will endure forever,” said 
the boastful Trojans as they looked at its solid walls 
and its noble buildings. But, alas, sad changes at 
length took place, and cruel war destroyed many a 
proud hope. 

*36 


THE FALL OF TROY 


137 


From beyond the sea came hosts of Greeks, 
armed for war and bent upon the conquest of the 
city. They came because one of the princes of 
Troy, Paris by name, had done a grievous wrong 
to Greece. He had stolen and carried away from 
her shores the most beautiful of all her women, even 
Helen, the wife of Menelaus of Sparta. The cry 
was for vengeance ; and heroes and warriors from 
every city and town joined hands and vowed 
vengeance upon Troy. They came in a thousand 
little ships, with sails and oars, and landed on the 
beach at the foot of the plain. They built huts and 
tents along the shore ; they kindled fires ; they threw 
up a breastwork of earth and stones around their 
camp ; they defied the warriors of Troy to come out 
on the plain and meet them in battle. 

Thus the siege was begun, and for more than 
nine years the city was surrounded by determined 
foes; but the walls were strong, and the men who 
defended them were brave. Many fierce battles 
were fought outside of the gates. Sometimes the 
victory seemed to be with the Greeks, sometimes 
with the Trojans; but neither could gain any great 
advantage over the other. The Trojans could not 
drive the invaders from their shores ; the Greeks 
could not force their way into the city. One hero 
after another was slain, now on this side, now on that. 


138 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

Great were the losses of besiegers and besieged, and 
great the suffering and grief ; but still the struggle 
went on. 

“ Athene protects us,” said the hopeful people of 
Troy. “ So long as the Palladium is with us, our 
city cannot be taken.” 

The Palladium was a beautiful statue which stood 
in the temple of Athene. In it the Trojans placed 
their hopes, for they believed that it had the strange 
power of protecting its friends. 

“ It is useless for us to fight longer,” said some of 
the Greeks; “for we can never prevail while the 
Palladium is in Troy.” 

“We have already stayed too long,” said others. 
“ Let us abandon this hopeless siege and return to 
our homes.” 

But Ulysses, the shrewdest of all the heroes of 
Greece, was unwilling to give up. On a dark and 
stormy night he made his way by stealth into the 
city ; he passed the guards unnoticed ; he crept into 
the temple of Athene while all the watchers were 
asleep ; he seized upon the Palladium and carried it 
in triumph to the camp by the shore. 

“Now we shall surely prevail,” said the Greeks; 
“ for the Palladium is ours.” 

But still the Trojans persevered and guarded well 
their gates ; and still the weary siege went on. 


THE FALL OF TROY 


139 


II. THE GREAT HORSE 

One morning in the early summer all Troy was 
awakened at daybreak by shouts from the sentinels 
on the walls. 

“ What is the matter now.f^ ” asked men, women, 
and children, as they hurried into the streets. 

“ They are gone,” said one of the sentinels. 

“ Who are gone ? ” 

“ Why the Greeks, of course.” 

“ Oh, no ! That is too good to be true.” 

“ Then come up here and see for yourselves.” 

Soon a hundred eager men and women were 
standing on the wall, straining their eyes in the gray 
light of dawn, and trying to discern the hated tents 
by the beach and the black-hulled ships along the 
shore. 

“ They are not there,” said the sharp-sighted sen- 
tinel. “ No sign of Greek can be seen — no ship 
nor tent nor smoking camp fire. Thanks to Athene, 
>they have left us at last.” 

“Look again,” said some of the doubtful ones. 
“ Perhaps the fog hides them from your view.” 

“ There is no fog,” answered the sentinel. “ But 
I see a strange, dark object among the reeds, close 
by the inlet where the boys used to go swimming. 
I wonder what it can be.” 


140 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


All looked toward the spot indicated. Surely 
enough there was something among the reeds. It 
was smaller than a ship and larger than a man. In 
the dim light of the morning, it looked like a sea 
monster lately emerged from the waves. 

“ Perhaps it has devoured the Greeks and their 
ships,” suggested a bustling little man. “ Ah, but 
what a fine large meal it must have had ! ” 

Just then the sun rose above Mount Ida, shedding 
a rosy golden light upon sea and shore and making 
every object on the beach plainly visible. There 
was no longer any doubt about the strange appear- 
ance in the reeds. 

“ It is a horse ! ” shouted one and all. 

“ But not a real horse,” said the sharp-sighted 
sentinel — “it is much too large. It is a huge, 
grizzly, ill-shapen image which the Greeks have left 
behind them, perhaps to frighten us. And now I 
remember that for several days there was something 
unusual going on behind the reeds and bushes there 
— workmen hurrying back and forth, and much 
noise of hammering and pounding. They were 
building this very image.” 

Just then Laocoon, a prince of Troy, joined the 
company on the wall. He was an old man, wrinkled 
and gray — a priest of Apollo, wiser and more dis- 
creet than most of his fellows. After looking long 


THE FALL OF TROY 


I4I 

and carefully at the strange image, he turned to the 
crowd around him and said, “ It is a trick. My 
children, beware of the cunning Greeks. They have 
prepared this image to deceive you. I warn you to 
have nothing to do with it.'* 


III. THE DESERTED CAMP 

About the middle of the morning, Priam, the old 
king of Troy, caused a proclamation to be sounded 
in the streets : — 

“ Our enemies have departed, and peace and safety 
are ours once again. At noon the gates of the city 
shall be opened, and our people may resume their 
peaceful occupations.** 

Forthwith there was a great bustling and stirring 
in every corner of the city. It was as though day 
had dawned after a long and fearful night. How 
sweet it was to feel free from dread, and to go about 
one*s business in peace! The women began to 
sweep and air their long-neglected houses, talking 
loudly and singing as they attended to their various 
tasks. The shopkeepers brought out their goods 
and announced fine bargains to the first buyers. 
The smiths kindled fires in their forges, and began 
to hammer old spears into reaping hooks and other 
implements of peace. The fishermen overhauled 


142 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


their nets. The farmers counted their rakes and 
hoes and plows, and talked about the fine crops they 
would have on lands that had lain idle so long. 

But not all the people were thus busy preparing 
for the occupations of peace. Long before the hour 
of noon a great company of idlers and sightseers, 
soothsayers and warriors, half-grown boys, and in- 
deed many respectable men, had gathered before 
the gate on the seaward side of the town, anxious 
to get out of the long-pent-up city. No sooner was 
the gate opened than there was a wild rush across 
the plain toward the shore. Men as well as boys 
were anxious to see whether the Greeks had left 
anything behind them that was worth having. 

They wandered along the beach, looking in every 
nook and corner of the old camp, but finding noth- 
ing more than a few bits of crockery, a broken 
sword hilt or two, and a few worthless ornaments. 
But they kept well away from the inlet where the 
reeds grew. The boldest of them could not be 
persuaded to go near the huge wooden horse which 
stood there. For Laocoon, the priest, had warned 
them again to beware of it ; and so they were con- 
tent to stand at a distance and gaze at the strange, 
unshapely object and wonder what evil trick the 
Greeks had intended by leaving it behind. 

Suddenly on the other side of the camp a great 


THE FALL OF TROY 


143 


shouting was heard. Then some countrymen, who 
had been hunting in the marshes, were seen ap- 
proaching with a prisoner. 

A Greek ! a Greek ! ” was the shout ; and men 
and boys ran forward to see the captive and join in 
abusing him. The poor fellow was led by a thong 
of oxhide twisted around his neck; and, as he 
stumbled along over the sand, the rude crowd jeered 
at him and jostled him and pelted him with sticks 
and sand and whatever objects they could lay hold 
of. The blood was trickling down his scarred face, 
his eyes were swollen, his left ear was mangled and 
torn, and his right arm seemed useless. But his per- 
secutors, as they saw his condition, shouted only the 
louder, “ A Greek ! a Greek ! Away with him ! ” 

Then, all at once, the uproar ceased and a great 
silence fell upon the rude rabble ; for, standing in 
his chariot quite near the spot, was one of the 
officers of the king. 

“ What prisoner is this whom you are thus abus- 
ing ? ” he asked. 

“We think he is a Greek,” answered his captors. 
“ We found him in the tall grass by the slimy 
marshes ; and as he was already wounded and hah 
blind, it was easy for us to take him, although we 
were unarmed.” 

“ Already wounded ! ” said the officer. “ That is 


144 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


indeed strange.” Then turning to the prisoner, he 
asked, “ How is this.f^ Tell me whether you are a 
Greek or whether you are a friend of Troy. What 
is your name, and what is your country ? ” 

“ My name,” said the prisoner, “ is Sinon, and 
although I am by birth a Greek, yet I have no 
country. Until ten days ago I counted myself a 
friend of Greece, and fought valiantly among her 
heroes. But see these grievous wounds, this ear, 
this bleeding face, these eyes. Can I remain 
friendly to those who thus maimed me and would 
fain have taken my life also ? ” 

“Tell us about it,” said the officer; “and tell us 
truly if the Greeks have sailed to their homes never 
to vex us again.” And he motioned to the young 
men to loosen the thong about the prisoner’s neck. 

“ Yes, I will tell you,” answered Sinon, “and I will 
be brief. When Ulysses, the craftiest of men, stole 
the Palladium from your temple, the Greeks felt 
sure that the city would soon fall into their hands. 
But as day after day passed by, and they gained not 
a single fight before the gates, they began to despair. 
Then a council was held, and it was decided to give 
up the siege and sail for home. Immediately great 
storms arose on the sea. The south wind blew 
continuously for days together. The waves dashed 
over the beach and destroyed more than one of our 


THE FALL OF TROY 


145 


tents. It was impossible for any ship to put to sea, 
and we all lay idle and despairing within our storm- 
beaten camp. Then the chiefs of the Greeks called 
the soothsayers and bade them tell what was the 
cause of these things, and by what means we should 
be able in the end to return home. Calchas was the 
first soothsayer to speak. 

“ ‘ Athene is angry,’ he said, ‘ because her statue, 
the Palladium, was stolen from her temple. That is 
why the storms rage so fiercely on the sea; and 
they will continue to rage until you do something 
to atone for the wrong that she has suffered.’ 

“ ‘ Tell us what we must do,’ said the chiefs. 

‘“You must make a statue of a horse and leave 
it on this shore as a token of your shame and 
repentance,’ answered Calchas. ‘ Never can your 
ships return to Greece until that is done.’ 

“ Then another soothsayer was called. Ulysses 
had instructed him what to say. ‘ The ships of 
Greece,’ said he, ‘ can never sail until a hero well 
known in the councils of the Greeks shall be sacri- 
ficed to Apollo.’ 

“ ‘ Who is the hero that must thus be sacrificed ? ’ 
asked the chiefs. 

“ ‘ It is Sinon,’ answered the soothsayer, being 
urged on by Ulysses. For the man of wiles desired 
my death, being offended at me without cause. 

THIRTY MORE FAM. STO. — lO 


146 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

“ I was at once bound with thongs and confined 
in a tent on the outskirts of the camp. I was told 
that at sunrise on the following day I was to die. 
But in the dead of night I broke the cords and 
would have escaped unhurt had I not been dis- 
covered by Ulysses. Fiercely he attacked me as 
I fled from the camp, and with unpitying blows he 
gave me the wounds that you see upon my body. 
Yet in the darkness I eluded him and found shelter 
in the slimy marshes by the shore. There I lay 
hidden till I saw the last of the ships sail away. 
But, as I was creeping out of my hiding place 
these rude fellows seized me and dragged me 
hither. Now, as to whether I am a friend of the 
Greeks you may readily know.” 


rv. THE DOOM OF LAOCOON 

“ But what about the horse ? ” cried the rabble of 
Trojans. “ What about the horse ? ” 

“ The horse,” said Sinon, “ was built as the 
soothsayer, Calchas, had directed. Otherwise, the 
ships could never have sailed. There it is now, 
standing among the reeds. The soothsayers de^ 
dared that it would carry happiness and pros- 
perity and peace wherever it should go. But the 
Greeks were unwilling that it should ever be a 


THE FALL OF TROY 


147 


benefit to Troy. Therefore they built it so wide 
and high that it cannot be taken through your gates. 
They placed it among the reeds by the shore, 
hoping that the waves might undermine it and carry 
it away to the deep sea.’* 

“ Ah, that is their plan is it ? ” cried the excited 
Trojans. “ Well, we shall see whether Troy is 
not made happy and prosperous by such a piece 
of work.” And, forgetting Sinon, the whole com- 
pany, with the king’s officer at its head, rushed 
madly to the spot where the great horse stood. 

“ Beware, my countrymen, beware I ” cried the 
voice of old Laocoon, as he struggled through 
the crowd. “ This is a trick of the Greeks. The 
horse will not bring you happiness and prosperity, 
but rather misery and ruin. Cast it into the sea, 
burn it to ashes, but do not receive it into the 
city.” 

With these words he hurled his spear at the 
huge image. The weapon struck it full in the 
breast, and those who stood nearest declared that 
they heard deep hollow groans and a sound like 
the rattle of shields issuing from the throat of 
the monster. 

“To the sea with it ! To the sea with it ! ” cried 
d few who believed in the old priest. 

But the greater number shouted, “ To the city 


148 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

with it! To the city with it! We will yet out- 
wit the Greeks ! ” 

Some ran to the city for ropes and wheels, and 
others hastened to make a breach in the wall large 
enough for the monster to pass through. 

The followers of Laocobn were too few and 
feeble to object or resist ; and the old priest, with 
his two sons as assistants, withdrew from the crov/d 
and went out on the beach to offer a sacrifice to 
Apollo, as was the custom of his country. He had 
built an altar of smooth stones and was preparing 
the sacrifice, when fearful cries were heard among 
the people by the shore, and all fled away in a panic 
of terror. Laocoon, looking up, saw the cause of 
the alarm. 

In the sea two huge serpents were swimming. 
They appeared to be coming from the island of 
Tenedos, four miles away, and they were approach- 
ing the beach with wondrous speed. No doubt 
Laocoon thought they were common water snakes 
and would not come upon the land ; for, after 
watching them a moment, he turned again to his 
altar and began offering the sacrifice. Swift as 
light the serpents sped toward the shore. Rear- 
ing their heads high in the air, they emerged from 
the waves and glided over the sandy beach. Before 
Laocoon saw his danger, the slimy creatures had 



Statue of Laocoon 




150 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

reached the altar. In another moment they had 
wrapped their horrid folds around the arms, the 
necks, the bodies of the unfortunate priest and 
his sons. Lifeless and crushed, the victims fell 
down beside the altar they had builded ; and the 
serpents, as though satisfied with their work, glided 
away and hid themselves under some rocks where 
the Greeks had carved a figure of Athene. 

The Trojans, who had watched this dreadful scene 
from a distance, stood for a while speechless with 
fear, not knowing who might be the next victims. 
At length, seeing that the serpents remained hidden, 
they began to breathe more freely ; and, as their 
courage slowly returned, some among them cried 
out, “ Behold how the mighty Athene has punished 
the man who dared to insult her by striking the 
great horse with his spear ! ” 

“ May such be the fate of all others who would 
oppose the will of the ever living powers ! ” cried a 
white-bearded soothsayer. “ Let us offer thanks 
/to our protector, the wise and kind Athene ; and let 
us hasten to draw her horse into the city, where it 
can have the protection which is its due. Then 
shall Troy be forever blessed.” 

Forthwith the fears of the past hour were for- 
gotten. All began to talk at the same time, and all 
were intent upon taking the great horse to the city 


THE FALL OF TROY 


151 

as soon as possible. Ropes were fastened to its neck 
and forelegs. Wooden rollers were placed under 
each corner of the platform on which it stood. Men 
with axes and hoes ran forward to clear a trackway 
across the plain to the place in the city wall where 
the breach had been made. Then the strongest and 
most willing seized hold of the long ropes and began 
to pull. Others pushed against the hind part of the 
platform. Still others stood by and offered kind 
advice to the workers. Some prayed to Athene. 


V. THE DREADFUL SURPRISE 

At length, after a great deal of tugging and sweat- 
ing by those at the ropes, the huge image began to 
move, the rollers beneath it creaked and groaned, 
and every Trojan shouted so loudly that the sound 
was heard far out to sea. 

Slowly but steadily the multitude advanced across 
the plain, dragging the wonderful horse which 
they believed would bless the city. The sun had 
set before they passed through the breach in the 
wall ; and the darkness of night was beginning to 
fall when the lumbering wheels ceased their noise. 
The great horse came to a standstill in a quiet 
corner close by the temple of Athene. 

“ My friends,” said the king’s officer, “ we have 


152 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

done a fine day’s work, and Athene’s horse rests near 
the place where it shall remain. Now, indeed, the 
happiness of Troy is insured. Let every person 
depart to his own home ; for to-night, the first time 
in ten years, we shall sleep in security, fearing no 
foe.” 

With joyful shouts and friendly good nights the 
crowd separated, and every man went quietly to his 
own house. Soon the city was wrapped in darkness, 
and the streets were silent and empty. And Athene’s 
horse stood grim and gaunt and motionless beside 
the temple wall. 

About midnight a man crept stealthily out of the 
temple and made his way to the breach in the wall. 
In one hand he carried a basket of pitch, in 
the other a small torch which he had lighted at the 
temple fire. With much caution he climbed to the 
top of the wall. He hid his torch in a cranny, and 
swung the basket of pitch by a chain on the outer 
edge of the stone coping. Then he sat still and 
'waited. Soon the sky began to grow lighter and the 
shadows in the city less dark. Presently the moon 
rose, bright and round. The roofs of the houses, 
the broad top of the city wall, the dull, deserted 
plain, the silent sea — all were silvered over with 
her soft, mellow beams. 

The man on the wall looked eagerly toward the 


THE FALL OF TROY 


153 


sea. What were those dark objects which he saw 
moving swiftly over the water and drawing rapidly 
toward the shore } A thousand ships, black- 
hulled and low, driven by twenty thousand oars. 
The cunning Greeks had not started for home, 
as the Trojans foolishly believed. They had gone 
only to the island of Tenedos and had lain there 
all day, hidden in the coves and inlets of the reedy 
shore. Soon their vessels would again be drawn 
up in their old places by the deserted camp. 

The man on the wall seemed to understand it 
all. He lifted the torch from its cranny and 
dropped it carefully into the basket of pitch. A 
lurid flame arose. As it lighted up the plain and 
the outside of the wall, it shone also upon the face of 
the man. His eyes were red, his face was wounded 
and swollen, the half of his left ear was gone. It 
was Sinon. 

Lights were soon seen on the ships; and then 
Sinon hurried down to the spot where the great 
horse was standing silent in the moonlight. With 
the flat of his short sword, he struck its foreleg 
three times. There was a noise above as of the 
rattling of armor. Then a panel in the horse’s 
breast slid aside. A man’s head, encased in a 
gleaming helmet, appeared at the opening. 

“ Is all well, Sinon ? ” asked a deep voice. 



Follow me, my men I 







THE FALL OF TROY 


155 


“All is well, Cousin Ulysses. Our ships are 
even now moored to the shore, and our friends 
are marching across the plain. The foolish Tro- 
jans lie sleeping in their homes, little dreaming of 
what awaits them.’' 

A rope ladder was let down, and Ulysses de- 
scended to the ground. Then fifty other heroes fol- 
lowed him, seeming glad to be in the open air again. 

“ But, Sinon,” said Ulysses, “ what mean those 
scars on your face, those half-blind eyes, and that 
mangled ear.?’ Did the Trojans abuse you thus.?” 

“ They abused me, but they made not these 
wounds,” answered Sinon. “ I made them myself, 
that I might the more easily persuade them to 
fall into our trap.” 

“ I understand, Sinon,” said Ulysses. “ People 
call me the man of wiles, but that title must now 
belong to you. And now, for the ending of the 
whole business! Follow me, my men, and let fire 
and sword do their worst I ” 

Why should I tell the rest.? The Trojans awoke 
from their dreams of peace to see their homes in 
flames, to hear the shouts of the triumphant Greeks, 
to know that for them there was naught but cap- 
tivity and sorrow and death. Thus the long siege 
came to an end, and thus the fair, rich city beyond 
the .^gean Sea was overthrown. 



Statue of Penelope 



PENELOPE’S WEB 


I. THE RETURNING HEROES 

Of all the heroes that fought against Troy, the 
wisest and shrewdest was Ulysses, the young king 
of Ithaca. Yet he went not willingly to the 
war. It would have pleased him better to re- 
main at home with his fair wife, Penelope, and 
his baby boy, Telemachus. He was far happier 
pruning his grapevines and plowing among his 
orchard trees than he could ever be in the turmoil 
of battle, wielding the sword or thrusting the spear. 
But the princes of Greece demanded that he should 
help them, and rather than be deemed a coward he 
consented. 

Go, Ulysses,” said Penelope, “ I will keep your 
home and kingdom safe until you return.” 

“ Do your duty, Ulysses,” said his old father, 
Laertes. “ Go, and may wise Athene speed your 
coming back.” 

And so, bidding farewell to Ithaca and all that 
he held dear, he sailed away. Forgetting the 
quiet delights of home, he thenceforth gave all his 
thoughts to war. 


«57 


158 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


Ten years passed before the weary siege of Troy 
was ended. When at length the city was laid in 
ashes, the Greeks embarked in their ships, and 
each chieftain with his followers sought, in his own 
way, to return to his native land. Fondly then 
did the thoughts of Ulysses turn to his loved wife ^ 
and his child, now a sturdy lad with winning 
ways ; and he longed to see again the rugged 
hills and pleasant shores of Ithaca. 

“ Spread the sails, my men, and row hard,” he 
said to his fellows; “for Penelope waits at home 
for my return, and keeps my kingdom for me.” 

But scarcely were his little ships well out to 
sea ere fearful storms arose. The vessels were 
tossed hither and thither at the mercy of the winds 
and waves. They were driven far, far out of their 
course. The sailors lost their reckoning, and not 
one could tell which way to steer for Ithaca. By 
strange, wild shores they sailed, past lands where 
barbarous people dwelt ; and every puff of wind and 
every stroke of oars drove them farther and farther 
away from the port which they sought. 


II. THE IMPORTUNATE SUITORS 

Now, one by one, the other heroes reached their 
homes, and the news of their coming was carried 


PENELOPE’S WEB 


159 


to every part of Greece. But of Ulysses and his 
companions there came no word whether they were 
living or dead. Daily did Penelope and young 
Telemachus and feeble old Laertes stand by the 
shore and gaze with aching eyes far over the waves. 
No sign of sail or of glinting oars could they discern. 
Months passed by and then years, and still no word. 

“ His ships are wrecked, and he lies at the bottom 
of the sea,” sighed old Laertes ; and after that he 
shut himself up in his narrow room and went no 
more to the shore. 

“ Surely Ulysses has perished,” said the men and 
women of Ithaca ; “ else some news would come to 
us of his whereabouts.” 

But Penelope still hoped and hoped and hoped. 
“ He is not dead,” she said ; “ and until he comes 
I will hold this fair kingdom for him.” 

Every day his seat was placed for him at the 
table; his house coat was hung by his chair; his 
chamber was aired and dusted ; his great bow that 
hung in the hall was polished and kept supple. 

Ten years passed thus with constant watching. 
Telemachus had become a young man, graceful 
and tall and gentle-mannered ; and his mother’s 
queenly beauty had not faded with the lapse of 
time, but grace and dignity were added to her 
girlish loveliness. Throughout all Greece fair 


l60 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

Penelope’s fame was sounded. Men talked of 
nothing but the charms of her face and form, 
the sweetness of her manners, and the nobleness 
of her mind. 

“ But how foolish of her,” said they, “ to be for- 
ever looking for Ulysses. Everybody knows that 
he is dead. She ought to marry some one of the 
young chieftains of Greece and share with him the 
kingdom of Ithaca ; for no woman in the world is 
more richly endowed than she.” 

The chieftains and princes who were looking for 
wives took the hint at once. One after another 
they sailed to Ithaca, hoping to win the love of 
Penelope and also the riches which were said to 
be hers. The first to arrive was Antinous, a young 
spendthrift, haughty, overbearing, and insolent. 
After him came Agelaus, a foppish fellow, proud 
of his slender figure and fine clothes and long, 
curling hair. The third was a rich old merchant, 
Leocritus, fat and pompous, and glorying in his 
wealth. Scarcely were these landed safely in Ithaca 
before many others arrived, whose names have been 
forgotten, as they deserved to be. 

Straight to the palace they went, with their serv- 
ants and belongings, not waiting for an invitation. 
For they knew that they would be treated as hon- 
ored guests, whether they were welcome or not. 


PENELOPE’S WEB l6l 

“ Penelope,” they said, “ it is not the custom in 
our country for a widow to live long unwedded. 
We have come as suitors for your hand, and you 
dare not turn us all away. Choose, now, the man 
among us who pleases you best, and the rest will 
forthwith depart.” And then each one began to 
tell of his own good qualities, of his noble family, 
his powerful friends, his wealth, and his courage. 

But Penelope answered sadly, “ Princes and 
heroes, this cannot be; for I am quite sure that 
Ulysses still lives, and I must hold his kingdom 
for him till he returns.” 

“ Return, he never will,” answered the suitors. 
“ So make your choice, as becomes your duty.” 

“ Give me yet a week, a month, to wait for him,” 
she pleaded. “ In my loom I have a half-finished 
web of soft linen. I am weaving it for the shroud 
of our father, Laertes, who is very old and cannot 
live much longer. If Ulysses fails to return by 
the time this web is finished, then I will choose, 
although unwillingly.” 

“Will you work upon this web every day.?” asked 
Antinous. 

“ Every day,” she answered, “ I will sit at my 
loom and weave the web. It would be a sin, 
indeed, if Laertes should go to the grave while 
the shroud is unfinished.” 


THIRTY MORE FAM. STO. — II 


l62 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

“ Let her delay her choice as she desires,” said 
Agelaus. “In the meantime, we will enjoy our- 
selves.” 

Forthwith the suitors made themselves at home 
in the palace. They seized upon the best of every- 
thing. They feasted daily in the great dining hall, 
eating and wasting the provisions that had been 
stored away with greatest care against the home- 
coming of Ulysses. They helped themselves to the 
wine in the cellar and to the fruits and flowers in 
the garden. They were rude and uproarious in 
the once quiet and beautiful chambers of the 
palace. They were insolent and overbearing to 
the servants and friends of Penelope, and they 
kept the people of Ithaca in constant terror by 
reason of their lawless deeds. 


III. THE DISCOVERED SECRET 

Every day Penelope sat at her loom and wove. 

See how much I have added to the length of the 
web,” she would say when the evening came. But 
in the night, while the suitors were asleep, she 
raveled out all the threads she had woven in dur- 
ing the day. Thus, although she was always at 
the work, the web was never finished. And Telem- 
achus, while his mother toiled, sat moodily in the 


PENELOPE’S WEB 163 

hall or strolled about the palace, angry and sad, and 
praying for his father’s return. 

So long as the wine and provisions held out, 
the suitors seemed to care but little about the web. 
“We can wait,” they said; “and while she is 
weaving the shroud, we will spend our days in eat- 
ing, drinking, and making merry.” 

At the end of a month, however, the cellar was 
almost empty. The fatted beeves had been killed 
and eaten ; and it was hard for the kitchen maids 
to find food for the daily feasts. Then the suitors 
began to wonder and complain. 

“ How soon may we expect that web to be fin- 
ished ? ” they impatiently asked. 

“ I am busy every day,” answered Penelope, “ and 
yet the web grows very slowly. But see how fine 
and soft it is, and how delicate the meshes. Such 
a piece of work cannot be completed in a day.” 

Agelaus, however, was not satisfied. In the 
dead of night he crept quietly through the great 
hall and the long passageways, and peeped into 
the weaving room. There, by the light of a little 
lamp, sat Penelope, busily unraveling the work of 
the day and whispering to herself the name of 
Ulysses. 

The spying suitor stayed but a little while, watch- 
ing her movements. Then he stole silently back 



Ulysses makes himself known to Telemachus 



PENELOPE’S WEB 165 

to his own place. “ The trick is a good one,” he 
said to himself, “ but it will not last long.” 

The next morning the secret was known to 
every one of the unwelcome guests. When Penel- 
ope came down into the hall, as was her wont, 
j they greeted her with jibes and laughter. 

“ Fair queen,” they said, “ you are very cun- 
ning; but we have found you out, and all your 
gentle tricks are known to us. The web that has 
been so long in weaving must be finished to-day; 
and you must make your choice this very evening. 
We shall wait no longer.” 

“ Oh, ask not that which is impossible,” pleaded 
Penelope. “ Give me yet a little more time. Give 
me one more day ; and I promise you that the web 
shall then be finished. To-morrow evening the 
moon will be at its full. Do but wait until then, 
and you shall have my answer.” 

“We will wait until that hour,” said Antinous, 
haughtily ; “ but not a moment longer.” 

“ No, not a moment longer,” echoed all the 
rest. 


IV. THE TARNISHED WEAPONS 

The next afternoon the unwelcome guests were 
assembled in the great hall as usual. The feast 
was set, and they ate and drank and sang and 


l66 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

shouted as never before. They made such an 
uproar that the very timbers of the palace shook, 
and the shields and swords that hung on the walls 
rattled against each other. 

While the turmoil was at its height, Telemachus 
came in, followed by Eumasus, his father’s oldest 
and most faithful servant. The guests were so 
busy enjoying themselves that their entrance was 
scarcely noticed. 

“ My young master,” said Eumaeus, “those shields 
and swords have hung long in their places, waiting 
for the return of your father.” 

“Yes,” answered Telemachus, “and they are 
becoming tarnished with the smoke and dust. Let 
us take them down and put them in the great 
chest in the treasure room. They will be much 
better kept there.” 

“ It is a good thought, master,” said the old ser- 
vant. “ I will carry the shields and the bows, and 
you may bring the swords.” 

“Very well, Eumaeus; and let us do the task at 
once. But my father’s great bow that hangs at the 
head of the hall must not be touched. My mother 
polishes and supples it every day, and she would 
sadly miss it if it were removed.” 

To lift the weapons from the walls was no hard 
matter ; but there were a number of them, and the 


PENELOPE’S WEB 167 

prince and old Eumaeus had to go and come many 
times before all were removed. 

“ What are you doing with those swords and 
shields ? ” cried Antinous, as they were going out 
with the last load. 

“ We are putting them in the big chest in the 
treasure room. They were being ruined with hang- 
ing here so long in the dust and smoke,” answered 
Telemachus, not deigning to stop. 

“ The lad is uncommonly cheerful to-day, ” re- 
marked one of the younger suitors. 

“ Perhaps he is expecting his father,” said old 
Leocritus, with a sneer. 


V. THE STROLLING BEGGAR 

At that moment a strange beggar entered the 
courtyard. He was dressed in rags ; his feet were 
bare, his head was uncovered, his hands trembled as 
he slowly walked toward the doorway of the great 
hall. Some of the servants who saw him laughed 
at his poverty, and bade him begone ; but others 
pitied his distress and checked their rudeness. 
“ Deal gently with him,” they said ; “ for mayhap 
he brings news of our master, the lordly Ulysses. 
He looks as though he had traveled far.” 

An old greyhound, Argos, was lying on a heap 


i68 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


of ashes by the kitchen door. Twenty years before 
he had been the swiftest and most beautiful of hunt- 
ing dogs — the pet and companion of Ulysses. 
But now, grown old and helpless, he was neglected 
and abused. His teeth gone, his eyes grown dim, his 
legs shaky and useless, he had no longer any joy of 
life. When he saw the beggar slowly moving 
through the yard, he raised his head to look. Then 
a strange light came suddenly into his old eyes. 
His tail wagged feebly, and he tried with all his 
failing strength to rise. He looked up lovingly 
into the beggar’s face, and uttered a long but joyful 
howl like that which he was wont to utter in his 
youth when greeting his master. 

The beggar stooped and patted his head. “ Ar- 
gos, old friend! ” he whispered. 

The dog staggered to his feet, then fell, and was 
dead with the look of joy still in his eyes. 

“ What ails the old dog ? ” asked Antinous ; for 
the sound of his howling was heard even in the 
feast hall. 

“ Doubtless he is bewailing the loss of his mis- 
tress,” said Agelaus ; and all the suitors laughed. 

A moment afterward the beggar stood in the 
door. 

“ Well, well! ” cried Leocritus. “What newcomer 
is this who thus pushes himself among his betters ?” 



i 


Argos, old friend 1 ’ he whispered. 










170 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


“ What do you want here, Old Rags ? ” said 
another of the suitors, hurling a crust at his head. 
“ Don’t you know that this is the king’s palace ? 
Begone ! ” 

“Yes, begone!” shouted old Eumaeus, trying to 
appear harsh. 

“ I wish to speak with the son of Ulysses,” said 
Ithe beggar, humbly. 

“ Then speak, for I am he,” said Telemachus, 
frowning and seeming angry. “ Make your story 
short.” 

“ O noble youth,” said the beggar, “ you are 
strong and fair, and life is all before you. But I 
am old and have fallen upon evil days. I pray that 
you will have pity on my distress.” Then in a low 
voice he added, “ Have you removed all the weap- 
ons as I bade you And are they safe in the great 
chest?” 

“ All except the great bow which hangs at the 
head of the hall,” whispered Telemachus. “What 
say you ? Shall we strike now ? ” 

“ Shall we strike now ? ” said old Eumaeus, draw- 
ing near and speaking below his breath. 

“ What is it the old vagrant is telling the boy ? ” 
cried Antinous. “ Out with him I ” 

“Yes, out with him!” cried the younger suitors, 
crowding forward with threatening gestures. 


PENELOPE’S WEB 


171 

“ Let him stay,” said Leocritus. “ Let him stay. 
We shall have great sport with him. Perhaps he, 
too, has come to claim the hand of fair Penelope. 
Say, is it not so, my humble friend ? ” 

The beggar made no answer. He grasped his 
staff with a firmer grip and gazed across the 
hall where was the lofty stairway that led to the 
queen’s chambers. Down the stairs came Penel- 
ope, stately and beautiful, with her servants and 
maids around her. 

“ The queen ! the queen ! ” cried the suitors. 

“ She has come to redeem her promise.” 

“ Telemachus, my son,” said Penelope, “ what poor 
man is this whom our guests treat so roughly ? ” 

“ Mother, he is a strolling beggar whom the 
waves cast upon our shores last night,” answered 
the prince. “ He says that he brings news of my 
father.” 

“ Then he shall tell me of it,” said the queen. 

“ But first he must rest and be fed and receive the j, 
attentions due to every guest.” With this she' 
caused the beggar to be led to a seat at the farther 
side of the room, and she bade Telemachus bring 
him food and drink with his own hands. “ Here, 
Melampo,” she said to one of her maids, “ bring a 
bowl and water with which to wash the poor man’s 
feet.” 


i;2 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

“ Not I,” said the proud maid ; “ I touch no 
beggar’s foot.” 

“ Then I will do the queen’s bidding,” said Dame 
Eurycleia, the old nurse who had cared for Ulysses 
when he was a child. 

Forthwith she brought a great bowl and warm 
water and towels; and kneeling on the stones 
before the stranger she began to bathe and wash 
his feet. Then suddenly, with a scream, she sprang 
up, overturning the bowl in her confusion. “ O 
master ! the scar ! ” she muttered hoarsely, but so 
low that only the stranger heard her. And then, 
to turn away suspicion, she added in a louder tone, 
“ How awkward I have become in my old age, that 
I should do so careless a thing! Now I shall have 
to refill the bowl.” 

“ Dear nurse,” whispered the seeming beggar, 
“you were ever discreet and wise. You know me 
by the old scar that I have carried on my knee 
since boyhood. Keep well the secret, for I bide 
my time and the hour of vengeance is nigh.” 

“ O Ulysses, my master,” she answered softly, 
“ I knew that you would come.” 

This man in rags was indeed Ulysses, the king. 
Alone in a little boat he had been cast, that very 
morning, upon the shore of his own island. He 
had made himself known first to old Eumaeus and 


PENELOPE’S WEB 


173 


then to his son Telemachus, but to no other per- 
son ; and it was by his orders that the weapons had 
been removed from the great hall. 

But the old nurse was prudent and shrewd. 
With the empty bowl in her hands, she hobbled 
from the hall to refill it, muttering loud complaints 
against the troublesome beggar. And Telemachus, 
bending over his father, whispered hoarsely, “ Shall 
we not strike now ? ” 


VI. THE WEB IS FINISHED 

In the meanwhile the suitors had gathered again 
around the feast table and were more boister- 
ous than before. “Come, fair Penelope!” they 
shouted. “ Come and grace our banquet with your 
presence. The beggar can tell his tale to-morrow, 
for we shall delay no longer. The moon is full, 
and your promise must be redeemed. Come I 
choose a husband from among us. For know you 
this, that Ulysses, even though he lives, shall never 
again enter this house.” 

“ Yes, choose I choose 1 ” cried the younger men, 
as the queen passed slowly to the head of the hall. 

“ Choose me,” said Agelaus, the fop ; “ for not 
even Apollo can match me for grace of form and 
figure.” 


174 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


“Choose me,” said rich Leocritus, “and the 
treasures of land and sea shall be yours.” 

“ Choose me,” said Antinous, the insolent ; “ for 
you dare not arouse my displeasure, and you shall 
be mine whether you choose or not.” 

“ Chiefs and princes,” said Penelope, in trembling 
tones, “ it is not fit that I should decide this ques- 
tion. Let us leave it to the gods. Behold, there 
hangs the great bow of Ulysses with which he was 
wont to do most valiant deeds ere cruel fate called 
him to Troy. Let each of you try his strength 
in bending it, and I will choose that one who can 
shoot an arrow from it the most skillfully.” 

“ Well said ! ” cried all the suitors, “and we agree 
to it. Hand us the bow, Telemachus, and let us 
make the trial.” 

First Antinous took the bow in his hands, and 
struggled long to bend it. Then, losing patience, 
he threw it upon the ground and strode away. 
“ None but a giant can string a bow like that,” 
he said. 

Then, one by one, the other suitors made trial 
of their strength; but all in vain. 

“ Perhaps the old beggar who has just had his 
feet washed would like to take a part in this con- 
test,” said Agelaus, with a sneer. 

Then Ulysses in his beggar’s rags rose from his 


PENELOPE'S WEB 


175 


seat and went with halting steps to the head of the 
hall. He lifted the great bow and looked with 
fond recollection at its polished back and its long, 
well-shaped arms, stout as bars of iron. “ Me- 
thinks,-’ he said, “ that in my younger days I once 
saw a bow like this.” 

He took the slender bowstring of rawhide in his 
fingers. With seeming awkwardness he fumbled 
long with the bow, seeming unable to bend it. 
“ Enough ! enough, old man ! ” cried Antinous, strik- 
ing him in the face with his hand. “ Drop the bow, 
and stay no longer in the company of your betters.” 

Suddenly a great change came over Ulysses. 
Without apparent effort he bent the great bow and 
strung it. Then, rising to his full height, he shook 
off his beggar’s rags and appeared in his own true 
likeness, clad in armor from head to foot, and every 
inch a king. 

“O Ulysses! Ulysses!” cried Penelope, falling, 
fainting into the arms of the old nurse. 

The suitors were speechless with amazement. 
Then in the wildest alarm they turned and tried to 
escape from the hall. But the arrows of Ulysses were 
swift and sure, and not one missed its mark. “ Now 
I avenge myself upon those who have eaten up my 
substance and would destroy my home ! ” cried the 
hero. 


176 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

Twang! went the bow; and Antinous, the in- 
solent, fell headlong upon the threshold of the 
palace. Twang! went the bow; and Agelaus in 
his silken robes rolled in the dust. Twang! went 
the bow ; and all the wealth of Leocritus availed 
him nothing. And thus, one after another, the law- 
less suitors perished — slain by the wrath of the 
hero whom they had wronged. 

The next day as Ulysses sat in the great hall with 
his queenly wife and his noble son Telemachus and 
the joyful men and maidens of his household, he 
told the story of his long wanderings over the sea. 
And Penelope, in turn, related how she had faith- 
fully kept the kingdom for him, as she had prom- 
ised, though beset by insolent and wicked suitors. 
Then she brought from her chamber a roll of soft, 
white cloth of wonderful fineness and beauty, and 
said, “ This is the web, Ulysses. I promised that 
on the day of its completion I would choose a hus- 
band ; and I choose you.” 


HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED 


I. THE TWO KINGS 

A very great while ago there was a city in Italy 
which its people called Alba Longa, or the Long 
White. It stood on the slope of a hill, a mile or 
more from the river Tiber. Its houses stretched in 
a straggling line down to the shore of a little lake. 

The men of Alba Longa were mostly shepherds 
and hunters. In times of peace they tended their 
flocks or ranged the woods for game. In times of 
war — which happened often enough — -every man 
was ready with club and pike to fight for his home. 

The people were rude and barbarous in their 
manners, as was common in those days. They ate 
mutton and coarse vegetables. They drank the 
milk of goats. They clothed themselves in sheep- 
skins. They slept on the floor, and never allowed 
their fires to go out. They seldom went far from 
home, and they fancied that the whole world was 
seen from the top of their hill. 

Now, there was a king of Alba Longa whose 
name was Numitor. He was an elderly man, gentle 
and kind. He cared little for power; indeed, 

THIRTY MORE FAM. STO. — 12 1 77 


iy8 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

there was nothing he liked so well as his farm and 
his garden and his flocks of white-fleeced sheep. T wo 
children were his — a promising boy of twelve and 
a lovely daughter whose name was Rhea Silvia. 
He had also a younger brother called Amulius, a 
low-browed, dark-faced fellow, ready to do any sort 
of wickedness that came into his mind. 

This brother was always stirring up the young 
men of Alba Longa. 

“ If I were king, things would be different,” he 
would say. “You should all live at your ease, and 
want for nothing.” 

At length, one day when Numitor was at his 
farm, Amulius proclaimed himself king of Alba 
Longa. He stationed soldiers at the city gates, and 
declared that every man who did not acknowledge 
his right to the kingship should be put to death. 
Then he sent word to Numitor: — 

“ You had better stay with your sheep and goats, 
for I am the king ! ” 

What else could poor, weak Numitor do.f^ In- 
deed, I think he was quite glad to be rid of his 
kingly burdens and have nought to think about but 
his flocks. He would have been happy if his chil- 
dren had been permitted to live with him on the 
farm. But news soon came which filled his heart 
with grief and clouded all the rest of his days. 


HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED 


179 


His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false 
Amulius. Fair Rhea Silvia had been shut up in a 
temple of Vesta, there to serve as a priestess all her 
days, and nevermore to see her dear father or the 
pleasant home of her childhood. 


II. THE TWO BABES 

After this, Amulius settled himself down to enjoy 
his kingship. The shepherds of Alba Longa tended 
their flocks, and were sad or joyous much as they 
had been before. They hated Amulius ; but they 
feared him much more, and so said nothing. And 
poor, sorrowing Numitor stayed on his farm and 
busied himself with his sheep and his goats. 

Five, six, seven years passed by, and then strange 
news was told in Alba Longa. Rhea Silvia, it was 
said, had escaped from her temple prison. She had 
gone away with an unknown warrior who was never 
seen except when dressed in a coat of mail and fully 
armed. Some said that this warrior was Silvanus, 
the protector of all cattle ; but most believed that he 
was Mars, the mighty lord of war and battles. 
As for me, I think he was some hero of a neigh- 
boring tribe who had known and loved Silvia in 
happier days, and who now wished to rescue her 
from her prison and make her his wife. 


l 80 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

Great was the excitement in Alba Longa, and 
great was the alarm of the false king Amulius. All 
through the land close search was made for Rhea ; 
but no sign or trace of her could be found. 

“ I shall never be safe while she lives,” said 
Amulius; and he doubled the guards around the 
city. But Numitor stayed with his flocks and 
seemed to know nothing of what had occurred. 

Another year passed by. It was the time of the 
spring floods, and the Tiber had overflowed its 
banks. The lowlands were under water. The 
shepherds had driven all their flocks to the hills. 

One morning King Amulius was standing alone 
in his palace looking out at the drenched earth 
and the pouring rain. Suddenly there was a great 
uproar at the door, and two shepherds entered bear- 
ing a covered basket in their arms. 

“ What have you there ? ” cried the king. 

They removed the cover. He looked in and saw 
two tiny babies, wrapped in an embroidered cloak. 
Their eyes blinked, and they began to cry as the 
light fell upon their faces. 

“Yesterday,” said the shepherds, “the Tiber 
suddenly flooded all our pasture lands. As we 
were hurrying toward the hills with our sheep we 
beheld a woman standing on a rock in the midst of 
the flood. We drew nearer, and saw that she was 


HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED l8l 

none other than Rhea Silvia, the daughter of old 
Numitor. When we would have seized her she 
leaped into the river, and the swirling waters car- 
ried her beyond our reach. But on the rock she 
left her cloak; and wrapped in the cloak, as you 
see them now, were these twin baby boys.” 

“ I doubt you not,” said Amulius, “ for the cloak 
is the same that Rhea Silvia wore when a girl. 
Why did you not fling the brats into the river and 
let them die with their mother.? ” 

“We dared not do so without your command,” 
was the answer. 

“ Well, then,” said the king, furious with rage, “ I 
command it now. Carry them back to the place 
where you found them, and make sure that they 
are drowned. Out of my sight, and be quick 
about it ! ” 

The shepherds again drew the cloak over the 
faces of the crying infants, and hurried away to do 
the king’s bidding. 


III. THE TWO SHEPHERDS 

“ I cannot bear to see the pretty babes drown 
before my eyes,” said one of the shepherds. 

“ Neither can I,” said the other. “ They make 
me think of my own twin boys at home.” 


i 82 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


“ I could not see a lamb struggling in the waves 
without trying to save it/’ said the first. 

“ Only yesterday,” said the second, “ I saved two 
young wolves from drowning. And now what am 
I about to do ? ” 

Thus the men talked to each other while they 
went on their undesired errand. Just as they 
reached the river they saw, floating in an eddying 
pool, a small trough, such as shepherds used when 
feeding their lambs in winter. 

“ I have it now,” said the second shepherd. “ Let 
us put the babes in the trough and send it floating 
into the current. They will be drowned, but not 
by us nor while we are looking on.” 

“You are right! You are right I ” answered his 
companion. “ Seize the thing as it comes near the 
shore, and let us end this ugly business.” 

They dipped the water out of the trough and 
wiped it dry and clean. Then they wrapped the 
babes in their mother’s cloak and laid them down, 
side by side, in the bottom of the rude vessel. 

“ Fare you well, sweet babes,” said the second 
shepherd. “ I could never look my own twin boys 
in the face were I to see you drown.” 

“ Fare you well, and a long, safe voyage,” said 
the other, as he pushed the trough far out from 
the shore. 


HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED 


183 


Then, without once looking behind them, the 
two men silently turned away and returned to 
Alba Longa to tell Amulius that they had done 
his bidding. 

“ Now at last I can breathe freely,” he said to 
himself. 


IV. THE SHE-WOLF 

Far down the stream floated the little trough 
boat with its tiny passengers. In the strong cur- 
rent it was rocked like a cradle, yet not a drop of 
water found its way into the frail craft. Lulled by 
the gentle motion and soothed by the rippling music 
of the waves, the babes soon fell asleep. 

Then the boat drifted into smoother water. It 
was caught in a broad eddy and carried toward 
the shore. Slowly now it floated among logs and 
brushwood and over the flooded land. At night- 
fall it grounded in shallow water at the foot of a 
wooded hill ; and the voyage was ended. 

That night an old she-wolf was roaming through 
the underwoods by the shore, looking for her whelps, 
which had been carried away by the flood. Suddenly 
she heard a feeble, wailing sound, as of some young 
creature in distress. 

She paused and listened. Could it be the cry of 
her own little ones ? 


1 84 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

The sound seemed to come from some driftwood 
close at hand. She ran out into the shallow water, 
leaped upon a floating log, and looked down upon 
the strangest sight that wolf ever saw — two babies 
lying in a sheep trough and wailing, oh, so pitifully ! 



As the beast scrambled to the top of the log the 
children were attracted by the sound ; they looked 
up and smiled and held out their tiny arms. 

The wolf wondered, as only wolves can wonder. 
Could it be possible that these were her own lost 
whelps, strangely changed in form since she last 
saw them } At any rate they were young and help- 
less and hungry; and she would be a mother to 
them. 


HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED ^ 1 85 

Her den was not far away. It was high and dry 
on the hillside. She would carry them thither. 

With her strong jaws and huge, sharp teeth she 
seized the cloak to tear it away. But the infants 
were wrapped in it so tightly that she lifted them at 
the same time. What a fine way to carry them! 
It was much better than grasping them by the nape 
of the neck as she had always done with her own 
babies. 

The babes were small and light ; the wolf was 
big and strong, and it was easy for her to carry 
them. She ran joyfully up the hill, holding her 
head high so that they would not drag on the 
rocks. Into her dry, warm den she hastened, as 
glad as any mother returning home with her lost 
loved ones. 

In a few minutes the wailing of the infants 
ceased; they fancied themselves in the arms of 
their own dear mother. The night was dark. 
Around the foot of the hill the waves lapped 
against the shore. In the wolf’s den all was 
silent. 


V. FAUSTULUS 

Summer came. The rains had ceased. The 
river Tiber was no longer a foaming torrent over- 
flowing the plains, but only a narrow, yellow stream 


1 86 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

creeping along toward the distant sea. The moun- 
tain torrents were dried up; the earth was dusty 
and hot; the grass was withering on the hillsides. 

Early one morning a wolf broke into the fold 
where the king’s sheep were kept, and carried 
away a lamb. The head shepherd, whose name 
was Faustulus, gave chase to the robber. He fol- 
lowed her to the very cave in which she had her 
den. It was on the slope of the hill called the 
Palatine. 

At the door of the cave the wolf turned and 
showed fight. Faustulus was ready for her. As 
she rushed fiercely toward him, a well-aimed 
blow from his ax felled her to the ground; an- 
other blow put an end to her life. 

Faustulus bethought him then that he would 
look in the den — perhaps there were young 
wolves there. The door of the cave was low 
and narrow; but with his ax in his hand he 
crept forward and peered inside. At first he 
could make out nothing plainly; but in a little 
while his eyes became accustomed to the dark- 
ness and he could see quite well. What a 
strange sight was that which met his gaze! In 
the farthest corner of the cave was . the wolf’s 
lair — a rough pile of sticks and leaves and dry 
grass, with a torn cloak lying beside it. On the 


HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED 


187 


top of this rude bed sat two baby boys. They 
were cooing and goo-gooing as happily as though 
they were in their mother’s lap. They were fat 
and hearty and appeared to be seven or eight 
months old; and when they saw Faustulus com- 
ing toward them they shrank back and began to 
scream with fear. 

Faustulus picked them up in his arms. He 
wrapped the remains of the old cloak around them. 
He crawled out through the low door and, without 
stopping to take another look at the place, hurried 
home. 

His wife, Acca Larentia, was astonished to see 
the two babes in his arms. 

“ Where did you find them, and what shall we do 
with them ? ” she asked. 

He told her about finding them in the cave, and 
showed her the torn cloak. 

“ This is the cloak of Rhea Silvia,” he said ; “ and 
no doubt these are her babes whom the king ordered 
to be drowned. Shall we be less kind to them than 
was the savage wolf ? ” 

“ Ah, no ! ” she answered. “ Although we have 
twelve children of our own to care for, there is still 
plenty of room in our poor hut. We will keep the 
twins and care for them as our own.” 

“ And nobody must know that they are not our 


i88 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


own,” said Faustulus ; “for should this be told to 
King Amulius it would mean death to us all.” 

The two babies were therefore taken into the 
shepherd’s family and given the same food and the 
same care and love as the other children. They 
were named Romulus and Remus, and they looked 
as much alike as two grains of wheat on the same 
stalk. 


VI. THE RIVAL SHEPHERDS 

Many years passed, and Romulus and Remus 
grew up to be tall young men, graceful and strong 
and fearless. With their foster brothers they tended 
the flocks on the Palatine Hill, and they were known 
among the shepherds as the sons of Faustulus. 
They hunted wild beasts in the forest by the Tiber; 
they fought with robbers ; they became noted 
throughout the land for their fearless valor. In 
every enterprise they were the leaders. 

Just across the valley from the king’s pastures 
there was another hill called the Aventine. It was 
there that poor old Numitor had his farm, and there 
he pastured his sheep and his goats. 

“ The grass is greener and taller on the Aven- 
tine,” said Romulus one day. “ Let us drive our 
flocks over there to fatten in the fields of old 
Numitor.” 


HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED 1 89 

“ Agreed ! ” said his companions ; and soon the 
thing was done. 

It was not long, however, before the shepherds of 
Numitor discovered the intruders. There was a 
great outcry. Numitor’s men rushed down the hill- 
side with clubs and stones and pikes, and there was 
a sharp fight. The king’s shepherds were out- 
numbered four to one. They fought fiercely, but in 
the end were glad enough to hurry their flocks 
back to their own pasture. 

A day or two after this, when Romulus was 
absent on a hunting excursion, it was discovered 
that the finest lamb in the king’s flock was missing. 

“Wolves!” said the shepherds. 

“ Yes,” said the sharp-sighted Remus, “ the two- 
legged wolves that keep old N umitor’s sheep I 
If you had as good eyes as I have, you could see 
the lamb now, tethered to a stake just this side of 
the great rock over there. Stay you here, and I 
will go and fetch it back.” 

And all alone, with nothing but his staff in his 
hands, he strode off toward the Aventine. 

“ Let us go with you, Remus,” cried the shepherds. 
“You may need help.” 

“Attend to your sheep, and do my bidding,” 
Remus roughly answered. 


190 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


VII. THE DISCOVERY 

An hour later there was a great ado on the 
Aventine Hill. Remus had made his way up the 
slope without seeing a single enemy. He had 
reached the lamb and cut the cord with which it 
was tethered. He was about lifting it in his arms, 
when a dozen dark-faced fellows rushed suddenly 
upon him from their hiding place behind the great 
rock. 

Remus dropped the lamb and fought manfully 
with his staff. But what could he do against so 
many ? He was thrown to the ground ; his hands 
were bound behind him ; and then he was led over 
the hill to the farmhouse of old Numitor. 

“Here is the ringleader of the gang that tres- 
passed on your grounds,” said his captors. 

“ Then away with him!” cried Numitor, without 
looking up or rising from his couch. “ Take him 
away and make an end of him.” 

But before the men could turn round with their 
prisoner, there was a great hubbub at the door, and 
the king’s shepherd, Faustulus, pushed his way into 
the room. 

“My lord Numitor, my lord Numitor,” he cried, 
“would you put your own grandson to death ” 
And then he hurriedly told the story of the twin 


HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED 


191 

babies and the woif, and of the manner in which 
the boys had been brought up in his own house. 

“ And where is the other young man ? ” asked 
old Numitor, his memory going back slowly to his 
dear lost daughter Rhea Silvia. 

“ Here I am, grandfather,” said Romulus, com- 
ing suddenly in, and going boldly forward to the 
old man’s couch. He had returned from hunting 
just at the moment that the news of his brother’s 
capture was told on the Palatine Hill. Calling to 
the shepherds to follow him, he was hurrying to- 
ward the Aventine to rescue the prisoner by 
force, when Faustulus had met him and told him 
about his parentage and urged him to another 
course. 

“ Here I am, too, grandfather,” said Remus, as 
Numitor raised himself slowly and gazed at the 
two brothers with his weak old eyes. 

“Whom do I see?” cried Numitor. “They 
have the face, the eyes, the look of Rhea Silvia; 
but what manly forms, what grace and strength ! 
Yes, I must believe your story, Faustulus. They 
are my ^grandsons — their looks prove it.” 

“ And if further proof were wanting,” said Faus- 
tulus, “look upon this embroidered robe that was 
found with the children in the wolf’s den.” 

Numitor took the soiled, torn garment in his 


192 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


hands, and his eyes filled with tears. “ Alas, my 
dear lost daughter!” he moaned. “And cruel 
Amulius will slay your sons, too, when he learns 
they are still alive.” 

“Not so, not so. King Numitor!” cried a voice 
^at the door. “ Down with Amulius I ” 

“ Romulus and Remus ! Let Romulus and 
Remus lead us I ” shouted all the shepherds and 
serving men. “ Down with Amulius the tyrant I 
Hail to our King Numitor!” 

Within an hour a strong force of men, armed 
with axes and pikes and clubs, was marching 
against Alba Longa ; and Romulus and Remus 
were the leaders. 

Amulius was feasting in his palace, little think- 
ing of danger, when the brothers rushed in at the 
head of their shepherd army. The fight was sharp 
but quickly over. The people of Alba Longa were 
so tired of Amulius that few cared to aid him. 
When he found that all was lost he tried to escape ; 
but a shepherd from the Palatine pastures felled 
him with a club, and an end was soon put to his 
wicked life. 

“ Our grandfather, Numitor, is again the king of 
Alba Longa ! ” cried Romulus. 

“Long life to King Numitor!” shouted the 
rabble of shepherds. Some of them hastened to 


HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED 


193 


fetch the old man from his farm ; and amid great 
rejoicings he was again seated on the throne from 
which he had been driven so long before. 


VIII. THE NEW CITY 

Romulus and Remus might have remained in' 
Alba Longa and lived at ease in their grandfather’s 
palace ; and, indeed, the poor man needed their help 
badly enough. But they longed for the pleasant 
hills where they had spent their childhood — for 
the Palatine and the Aventine, with their pasture 
lands and their green woods. 

“ Grandfather,” they said, “ you are the king of 
Alba Longa and we wish you long life and pros- 
perity. But Alba Longa is no place for us. Give 
us leave to go out in the wild region by the Tiber 
and build a new town of our own.” 

What could Numitor do but tell them to go 
wherever they pleased.? And so, at the head of 
a company of reckless men, — some shepherds and 
some robbers, — they went back to the hills by the 
Tiber. 

“ We will build our town on the Palatine,” said 
Romulus. 

“ No, indeed,” said Remus, “we will build it on 
the Aventine.” 

THIRTY MORE FAM. STO. — 1 3 


194 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


They could not agree ; neither could the men who 
were with them. At last, when they were about 
to come to blows, old Faustulus stepped between 
them. 

“ For your own sakes, my boys,’’ he said, “ don’t 
be wolves, but men. Settle this question in a 
peaceful way. Let the augurs decide.” 

“You are right,” said the brothers; “the augurs 
shall decide. To-night we will watch for such 
signs as the powers above may send us.” 

All night long Romulus sat alone on the sum- 
mit of the Palatine ; all night long Remus sat alone 
on the summit of the Aventine. Thick clouds 
concealed the sky; the world was wrapped in 
pitchy darkness ; nothing could be seen ; nothing 
was heard. At last the dawn appeared, feeble and 
gray on the hilltops. Then Remus, watching from 
his lonely post, saw some large birds winging their 
way toward the woods beyond the Tiber. 

' “ The augurs are for me,” he cried to the shep- 

herds in the valley below him. “ I see six vultures 
flying from the Aventine.” 

A few minutes later the clouds rolled away and 
the rising sun gilded the tree tops with its golden 
beams. Then the shepherds heard from the sum- 
mit of the opposite hill the deep-toned voice of 
Romulus crying, — 


HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED 


195 



“ ‘What a fine, strong wall it isl ’ ” 


“ The victory belongs to me. I see twelve vul- 
tures flying over the Palatine.” 

“ The augurs decide for Romulus,” said the 
j shepherds. “ The town shall be built on the Pala- 
tine, and it shall be called Rome in honor of our 
captain.” 

Romulus began at once to lay off the bounds of 
his little town. A few huts of brush and bark were 
built for the men. A better one of stones and clay 
was put up for the brothers. But Remus sulked 
and complained and tried in every way to hinder 


196 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

the work. “And this is the city of Rome, is it.f^” 
he sneered. “ What a grand city, indeed ! ” 

“We must have a strong wall around our city,” 
said Romulus. 

At once, with sharpened stakes and wooden 
spades, the men began the work. The space to 
be inclosed was not large, and soon a wall of 
earth and loose stones arose around the new city 
of Rome. It was but waist high, crooked, and 
uneven ; and it was little wonder that Remus 
laughed at it. 

“ What a fine, strong wall it is ! ” he scornfully 
cried; and, running forward, he leaped over it at a 
bound. 

But his feet had scarcely touched the ground 
when an angry shepherd struck him fiercely with. 
a spade. As he fell, speechless and dying, the 
men crowded to the spot with rough cries and 
savage exultation. 

“ Thus perish all who attempt to pass the walls 
of Rome ! ” they shouted. 


HOW DECIUS MUS SAVED ROME 


It was early morning in Italy two thousand, two 
hundred, and forty years ago. The first faint streaks 
of daylight were just beginning to appear on the 
top of a hill where the Roman army was resting 
and waiting for the dawn. It was not a large army, 
for Rome had not yet grown to be great and power- 
ful ; but every man in it was ready to lay down his 
life for his country. 

Not far away, on one of the lower slopes of 
Mount Vesuvius, the Latin hosts were encamped. 
They outnumbered the Romans three to one, and 
the Latin soldiers were already boasting of the 
victory they expected to win. 

Two men were walking in front of the Roman 
encampment and anxiously waiting for the dawn. 
They were Decius Mus and Manlius Torquatus, 
the consuls of Rome and generals of the Roman 
army. 

“ I had a dream last night,” said Decius. 

“ And so had I,” said Manlius. “ I dreamed of 
the battle that is soon to begin.” 

“ And I dreamed of the way in which it is to 


197 


198 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

end,” said Decius. “ There are to be great losses 
on both sides. — But tell me your dream.” 

“In truth it was rather a vision than a dream,” 
answered Manlius. “ As I lay on the ground with 
all my faithful men around me, a gray-eyed maiden, 
clad in shining armor and carrying a shield and 
spear, came and stood beside me. ‘Manlius,’ she 
said, ‘ to-morrow’s battle will decide the destiny of 
Rome, whether she shall be the mistress of the 
world, or whether she shall perish by the hands 
of her Latin foes. If you will save her, you must 
heed what I say. That army which loses its gen- 
eral in the fight shall be victorious and shall utterly 
overcome the other.’ And with this, the vision dis- 
appeared and I awoke.” 

“ My dream was much the same,” said Decius. 
“The same maiden with the shield and spear and 
piercing gray eye appeared to me. ‘ Do you want 
to know how to-morrow’s battle will end?' she 
asked. ‘ The side that does not lose its leader will 
surely lose its army.’ And then she vanished.” 

“We have each had a message from the gods,” 
cried Manlius, “ and we must heed it. I understand 
it means that if a Roman general perish in the 
battle, then Rome will be saved.” 

“ That is the way I understand it,” said Decius ; 
“ and I am ready to be sacrificed for Rome.” 


HOW DECIUS MUS SAVED ROME 


199 


The two consuls finally agreed that each would 
lead, as usual, a wing of the Roman army against 
the enemy, and that the one whose wing first began 
to waver should give his life for his country. 

The sound of busy preparation was already heard 
in both camps. The Roman soldiers were impatient 
to begin the fray. The sun was scarcely above the 
mountain tops before the battle was raging. 

Furiously the Romans fought, contesting every 
foot of ground. The left wing, commanded by 
Decius Mus, was the first to waver. 

Then Decius, with great dignity, like that of a 
conqueror, strode alone to the summit of a little 
hill where both armies could see him. Standing 
with a javelin beneath his feet, and raising his hands 
and eyes toward heaven, he cried, “ Rome ! I give 
the victory to thee ! ” 

With these words he rushed into the midst of the 
enemy. A dozen spears were thrust at him, and he 
died with the name of his country on his lips. 

With a cry of vengeance the Romans followed 
their leader, striking and grappling and slaying, and 
heeding nothing but to destroy their foes. The 
Latins were thrown into confusion ; then a panic 
seized them and the whole army fled. 

Decius had saved Rome. 


DELENDA EST CARTHAGO! 


“ Delenda est Carthago 1 ” 

A noble old Roman, eighty-four years of age, had 
just finished a stirring speech in the Forum, or 
great market place of Rome, and these were his 
closing words : “ Delenda est Carthago 1 ” (Carthage 
must be destroyed I) 

His words were repeated by his hearers; they 
were carried into the street ; they were discussed by 
excited men in every part of the city. 

“ Who says that Carthage must be destroyed ? ” 
asked one citizen of another. 

“ Cato the Censor says so,” was the answer. “He 
says that two such cities as Rome and Carthage 
cannot long exist under the same sun. One must 
soon submit to the other. If Rome does not destroy 
Carthage, then Carthage will destroy Rome.” 

“ Then every Roman must join with Cato and 
cry, ‘ Delenda est Carthago I ’ ” 

Cato was dreadfully in earnest about the matter. 
Rome had already had two long wars with the great 
city on the other side of the Mediterranean. Cato, 
when a young man of eighteen, had served as a sol- 


200 


‘^DELENDA EST CARTHAGO! 


201 


dier in one of these wars. In his old age, when the 
cities were at peace, he had been sent as an ambas- 
sador to Carthage. He was astonished at what he 
saw there. He had supposed that Rome was the 
richest and most powerful city in the world; but 
now he feared that he was mistaken. 

He saw the harbor of Carthage swarming with 
ships from all parts of the world ; the wharfs were 
piled with the wealth of many countries ; the shops 
were filled with rich and rare merchandise; the 
market place was thronged with buyers and sellers ; 
the beauty of the public buildings and the strength 
of the city walls surpassed anything of which Rome 
could boast ; the wealth and power of Carthage were 
too great to be estimated. 

And so when stern old Cato returned home he 
felt that there was but one way to save Rome. He 
must arouse his countrymen to a sense of their dan- 
ger. Carthage must be destroyed. 

When he had finished his speech in the Forum, 
he wrapped his toga about him and went down into 
the street. Every one who saw him knew by the 
broad purple border on his white homespun toga 
that he was one of Rome’s great men — that he had 
held some of the highest offices in the gift of the 
city. A narrower border denoted a citizen of less 
renown; no border at all signified that its wearer 


202 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


had not yet been honored with an office. But in 
those days to be a Roman even of the humblest 
rank was better than to be a king. 

In the street Cato met many of his friends ; and 
no matter on what subject they might talk, his last 
words when parting with them were, “ Delenda est 
Carthago ! ” 

He had been a Roman censor, and for a time had 
been the most powerful man in Rome. He had 
had the oversight of the morals of the city, and 
had tried hard to preserve the simple, sturdy habits 
of his forefathers. There was nothing that he hated 
more than luxury and self-indulgence; and now 
when he saw young men dressed in fashionable 
style idling in the streets, his anger was hot against 
them. “ Delenda est Carthago ! ” he cried, while 
reproving them for their folly. And when he saw 
officers of the state living in fine houses and en- 
joying their wealth, he sneered at them in contempt 
and cried out, “ Delenda est Carthago ! ” 

He did not stay long in the city, but hastened 
to return to his farm on the Sabine, where he had, 
lived all his life except when in the service of Rome. 
And his first greeting to his family was, “ Delenda 
est Carthago ! ” 

Had you seen him on his farm you would not 
have thought of him as the greatest of Romans. 


“DELENDA EST CARTHAGO!” 


203 


Having laid aside his toga, he appeared dressed in 
the rude fashion of a hard-working farmer. With 
a broad-brimmed hat on his head and a sheepskin 
cloak thrown over his shoulders, he walked out to 
see his cattle and crops, to gather grapes in his 
vineyard, and to pick olives from his olive trees. He 
met with his country neighbors and talked about 
the prospects of the wheat harvests and the best 
methods of making wine ; but he always closed his 
discourses by crying, “ Delenda est Carthago ! ” 

His manner of life on the farm was very simple. 
Everything was just as it had been in the days of 
his father and of his grandfather. Cato was a hard 
worker to the end of his life. He plowed his fields, 
he sowed his grain, he helped the reapers, he gath- 
ered his hay, he fed his flocks and herds. “ To do 
these necessary things,” said he, “ is to be a Roman 
of the old-fashioned sort.” 

His wife and daughters were Romans of the 
old-fashioned sort, too. They had the care of the 
home ; they ground the barley and made the bread 
for the household ; they attended to the milk and 
pressed the cheeses ; they bottled the wine from the 
home grapes ; they spun and wove the clothing for 
the family. Life on the Sabine farm was a con- 
tinuous round of hard work and pleasant duties ; 
and the coarse fare and simple diet gave to all 


204 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


the household good health and long and happy 
lives. 

The great Roman’s last days would have been 
spent peacefully enough if it had not been for the 
bitter hatred which he bore toward Carthage. 
Whenever he went down to Rome, it was to stir up 
among his fellow-citizens the same feelings which he 
himself had. Whenever he made a public address, 
whether it was upon politics or religion or farming, 
he did not fail to add a word about Carthage. And 
when, at length, worn out by old age, he lay down 
for the last time upon his hard, humble cot, his 
farewell message was, “ Delenda est Carthago ! ” 


HANNIBAL, THE HERO OF CARTHAGE 


I. THE VOW 

It is a great day in Carthage. The shops and 
warehouses are all closed. The streets are full of 
people as on a holiday. The principal houses, as 
well as the ships in the harbor, are gay with bright- 
colored banners. The quays by the waterside are 
crowded with soldiers waiting their turn to embark 
on the war vessels which lie moored along the 
dock. Everywhere there are hurrying feet and 
busy hands and anxious, hopeful faces. For to-day 
Hamilcar, the greatest general of Carthage, is to 
sail with his army for Spain, and the whole city is 
celebrating the event. 

The temples are crowded with worshipers. 
Officers and tradesmen are there to implore the 
gods to bless the voyage of Hamilcar. Women 
and children are there to pray for the protection of 
their husbands or fathers who are going out to fight 
for the glory of Carthage. All bring gifts for the 
stern god, and the altars are smoking with burnt 
offerings. 

It is noon. A grand procession passes down 


205 


206 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


the street and enters the chief temple of Baal. 
Hamilcar himself is there, and with him are the 
officers of state and the most famous men of 
the city. They have come, according to the custom 
of the time, to make their due offerings to the gods. 
It is thus that they pray for the success of their 
army in Spain. 

By the side of the general is his little son Hanni- 
bal, now nine years of age. Young though he is, 
he is already a man in thought and ambition. It 
is his wish to be a great warrior like his father. 
Every day he has begged to be allowed to go with 
the army to Spain. 

“ I am not a child, father ; for I reach almost up 
to your shoulder. I will be strong and brave. I 
will fight in the front ranks. No one shall call 
me weak or cowardly. I will serve you well if 
I may go.” 

But the father firmly refuses. 

“ Wait yet a few years, my son. The time is 
coming when we shall have a much greater war; for 
soon Carthage must destroy Rome or be destroyed 
by her. Be patient, Hannibal. Stay at home yet 
a while ; nurse your hatred of the Romans ; study 
the art of war. You shall at length lead our 
armies to greater victories than mine shall be in 
Spain.” 


HANNIBAL, THE HERO OF CARTHAGE 


207 


And now father and son walk side by side down 
the long dim aisle of the temple of Baal. Through 
the smoke and the dark shadows of the overhang- 
ing arches, the grim-faced idols look down upon the 
pair. The priests stand in their places. Drums 
are beaten. Discordant music fills the air. 

“ Place your hand on the altar, Hannibal.” 

The boy obeys. 

The father pours out costly incense as an offering 
to Baal. 

“ Now make your vow, my son.” 

And Hannibal, nothing daunted, repeats before 
Baal and the long-robed priests the vow he has 
been taught to make. He vows that he will cherish 
undying hatred for the Romans, that day and night 
he will study to do them harm, and that he will 
never pause nor give up until their proud city has 
been laid in ashes. 

The priests chant their approval. The smoke of 
the incense rises. The bugles sound, the drums 
are beaten, the cymbals clash. The grand proces- 
sion moves slowly out of the temple; it makes its 
way through crowds of shouting people to the busy 
quay. There the farewells are spoken. The gen- 
eral and his officers embark in the vessel that has 
been waiting for them. There is much shouting; 
there is a great waving of banners. The long oars 


208 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


are dipped into the water, and the ship begins its 
voyage. 

The boy Hannibal returns to his father’s house to 
nurse his hatred of Rome. 


II. CROSSING THE ALPS 

Five, ten, fifteen years passed by, and then the 
words of Hamilcar came true. A great war was 
begun between Rome and Carthage. It was the 
second time that these mighty nations had engaged 
in a fierce struggle for the mastery. 

Hamilcar was dead ; and Hannibal, twenty-four 
years old, had taken his place as leader of the armies 
of Carthage. “ The day that I have been waiting 
for has come at last,” he said. 

He was ready for the war. Before the Romans 
could collect an army he was on the march. With 
many thousands of fighting men and a great num- 
ber of horses and elephants, he moved northward 
through Spain. He marched into southern France, 
which was then called Gaul. The Romans hastily 
sent an army against him, but they could do nothing 
to hinder his progress. He crossed the great river 
Rhone. The Alps mountains, lofty and rugged, 
stood like an impassable wall before him. 

In Italy, far beyond these mountains, was the city 



Hannibal crossing the Alps 



210 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


he had set out to conquer and destroy. But how 
should he lead his army thither ? There were but 
two ways by which to go, and both these seemed 
impossible. 

The shorter way was by sea. But where were 
the ships to carry so great a host with wagons and 
baggage and the necessaries of war ? Plainly they 
were not to be had. 

The other way was over the Alps. But how 
could an army with horses and elephants and pro- 
visions climb those rugged heights.? No one but 
Hannibal would have thought it possible. 

“ Beyond these snow-capped mountains lies 
Rome I ” he cried, and gave the word to press 
forward. 

There is a narrow pass through the Alps, steep 
and dangerous even for the mountaineers who live 
there. Along this pass Hannibal led his army, for 
other way there was none. 

Rough and narrow was the road. In places it 
wound around the foot of some towering rock ; in 
places it skirted the edge of some bottomless 
chasm ; in places there seemed to be scarcely 
room for a man to pass, and yet with great labor 
and pains a way was made for the horses and 
elephants. 

From the cliffs above the pathway, the people 


HANNIBAL, THE HERO OF CARTHAGE 


2II 


who lived among the mountains hurled great 
stones upon the heads of the soldiers. 

Hundreds of men and animals perished, some 
by falling into chasms, some by being struck with 
the stones, and some from weariness and cold. 
And yet Hannibal pressed onward. 

At last the fearful upward march was ended. 
The army had passed the summit of the mighty 
mountain wall. Looking down from the heights, 
the weary men could see the green forests and 
fields of Italy spread out like a map below them. 

“ It is there that Rome lies ! ” cried Hannibal. 

But the Roman armies were waiting for him 
below. Many a hard battle did he fight, vainly 
trying to reach the city which he had set out to 
destroy. In the end his army was beaten, and he 
was forced to escape from Italy as best he could, 
taking only a small remnant of his men with him. 

Rome and not Carthage was to be the mistress 
of the world. 


CROSSING THE RUBICON 


Rome was the most powerful city in the world. 
The Romans had conquered all the countries on 
the north side of the Mediterranean Sea and most 
of those on the south side. They also occupied 
the islands of the sea and all that part of Asia 
that now belongs to Turkey. 

Julius Caesar, a man of wonderful courage and 
energy, was sent with a large army into Gaul to 
conquer that country also for Rome. Gaul was 
the region which we now call France. It was in- 
habited by a great many warlike tribes who fought 
against Caesar with all their might but were finally 
forced to submit. 

For nine years Caesar and his army served 
Rome loyally and well. They took possession of 
all Gaul and made it a Roman province. They 
crossed the Rhine and subdued a part of Germany. 
They even went into Britain, which was then a wild 
and savage country, and were the first to make that 
island known to the civilized world. 

But Caesar had many enemies at home. They 
were jealous of him because he had done such great 


212 


CROSSING THE RUBICON 


213 


deeds, and because the common people in Rome 
and other parts of Italy praised him as a hero. 

One of these persons, whose name was Pompey, 
had long been the most powerful man in Rome. 
Like Caesar, he was the commander of a great army ; 
but his army had done very little to win the ap- 
plause of the people. Pompey saw that, unless 
something occurred to prevent it, Caesar would in 
time be his master. He therefore began to lay 
plans to destroy him. 

In another year the time of Caesar’s service in 
Gaul would end. It was understood that he would 
then return home and be elected consul, or ruler, 
of the mighty republic of which Rome was the 
center. He would then be the most powerful man 
in the world. 

Pompey and other enemies of Caesar were 
determined to prevent this. They induced the 
Roman Senate to send a command to Caesar to 
leave his army in Gaul and come at once to 
Rome. “ If you do not obey this command,” said 
the Senate, “you shall be considered an enemy to 
the republic.” 

Caesar knew what that meant. If he went to 
Rome alone, his enemies would make false accusa- 
tions against him ; they would try him for treason ; 
they would not permit him to be elected consul. 


214 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


He therefore called the soldiers of his favorite 
legion together and told them of the plot that had 
been made for his ruin. The war-loving veterans 
who had followed him through so many perils, and 
had helped him to win so many victories, declared 
they would not leave him ; they would go with him 
to Rome and see that he received the rewards that 
were his due ; they would serve without pay ; they 
would even share with him the expenses of the long 
march. In all the legion there was only one man 
who proved false to Caesar. 

The march to Italy was begun. The soldiers 
were even more enthusiastic than Caesar himself. 
They climbed mountains, waded rivers, endured 
fatigue, faced all kinds of danger for the sake 
of their great leader. 

At last they came to a little river called the Rubi- 
con. It was the boundary line of Caesar’s province 
of Gaul ; on the other side of it was Italy. Caesar 
paused a moment on the bank. He knew that to 
cross it would be to declare war against Pompey 
and the Roman Senate ; it would involve all Rome 
in a fearful strife, the end of which no man could 
foresee. 

But he did not hesitate long. He gave the word, 
and rode boldly across the shallow stream. 

“We have crossed the Rubicon,” he cried as he 


CROSSING THE RUBICON 215 

reached the farther shore. “ There is now no turn- 
ing back.” 

Soon the news was carried to Rome : “ Caesar has 
crossed the Rubicon ; ” and there was great dismay 
among those who had plotted to destroy him. 
Pompey’s soldiers deserted him and hastened to 
join themselves to Caesar’s army. The Roman 
senators and their friends made ready to flee from 
the city. 

“ Caesar has crossed the Rubicon ! ” was shouted 
along the roads and byways leading to Rome ; and 
the country people turned out to meet and hail with 
joy the conquering hero. 

The word was carried a second time to the city: 
“ Caesar has crossed the Rubicon ; ” and the wild 
flight began. Senators and public officers left 
everything behind and hurried away to seek safety 
with Pompey. On foot, on horseback, in litters, in 
carriages, they fled for their lives — all because 
Caesar had crossed the Rubicon. Pompey was 
unable to protect them. He hurried to the sea- 
coast, and, with all who were able to accompany 
him, sailed away to Greece. 

Caesar was the master of Rome. 



THE WHITE-HEADED ZAL 

I 

There is a mountainous country in Persia which 
in olden times was called Seistan. Long, long 
ago — so long that nobody remembers the years — 
that country was ruled by a mighty king whose 
name was Saum. 

Now, although Saum was rich and great, he was 
very unhappy; for he had no son to rule his king- 
dom after him. At length, however, a baby boy 
was born to him. This child was faultless in form 


2i6 


THE WHITE-HEADED ZAL 


217 


and beautiful in face and limb, but his hair was like 
that of an old, old man — long, and white as snow. 

The infant was eight days old before its father 
knew of its birth. For every one was afraid to tell 
the king lest he should be angry when he learned 
that his son was so strangely different from other 
children. But on the ninth day one of the women 
of the household gathered courage to go into the 
presence of mighty Saum. 

She bowed herself to the earth before him and 
made it known that she wished to speak. And 
when the king had given her leave, she cried 
out: — 

“ May heaven’s blessing rest upon Saum, the hero ! 
May his days be long and full of joy ! For a son is 
born to the king — a child faultless in form and 
beautiful in face and limb. His face is as fair as the 
full moon in its glory. His eyes are as glorious as 
the sun at its rising. He has not any blemish, save 
that his hair is like unto the hair of an old, old man 
— long, and white as snow. This child, O my 
master, is heaven’s gift to thee. Let thy heart turn 
to him in love, and let thy thoughts be full of grati- 
tude to God.” 

Then Saum arose and went into the women’s 
house to see his child. And the nurse brought to 
him the moon-faced babe that was faultless in form 


2i8 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


and limb but had hair like unto the hair of an old; 
old man. 

The king gazed long upon the helpless little one, 
and his heart turned to it in love and pity. But 
when he had gone out of the room his pride began 
to touch him. He thought how all the world would 
laugh at him because of this his only son, so 
strangely different from other children. The longer 
he thought, the more bitterly did he grieve, and his 
love was turned to shame and disappointment. 

“ Why has the Lord of Light given me such a 
son ? ” he cried. “ When men see his white hair 
they will laugh at me. They will turn their backs 
upon him, and will not have him for their king. 
Better it would be if I had no son.” 

Thus spoke Saum, the hero; and, as the days 
went by, his heart was hardened because of his 
shame and disappointment. At length he called his 
trustiest servant, and bade him carry the child into 
some lonely place and leave it there to perish. 

Now on the borders of Seistan, far from the homes 
of men, there is a mountain called Elburz. Its top 
reaches to the stars, and its sides are so steep that no 
man has ever climbed halfway to its dizzy summit. 
At the foot of this mountain the king’s servant left 
the child. He left it lying in its princely robes and 
smiling at the blue sky above it. 


THE WHITE-HEADED ZAL 


219 


High, on the topmost rock of the mighty moun- 
tain a wonderful bird had built her nest. Simurgh 
was the name of this bird, and her nest was a marvel 
to behold. She had made it of ebony and of sandal- 
wood, and had twined it about with twigs of aloes. 
Inside and out, it was like a king’s house for comfort 
and beauty. 

For a thousand years this wise bird had had her 
home on that lofty mountain peak. There she 
breathed the pure air of the skies and talked with 
the twinkling stars. And she was learned in the 
wisdom of the ages and knew the language of men. 

The Simurgh saw the helpless . babe lying at the 
foot of the mountain. She saw him as the sun went 
down, and heard him crying from loneliness and hun- 
ger. She spread her wings and flew lightly down. 
She picked him up in her talons, and carried him to 
her lofty nest. 

She had intended to give him to her nestlings to 
devour as they would devour a rabbit or a lamb. 
But when she saw how gentle and fair he was, and 
how faultless in form and limb, her heart was moved 
with pity. 

“ My children,” she said, “ I have brought you a 
rare and noble gift. Here is the son of the king. 
I bid you to do him no harm, but to love and treat 
him as your brother.” 


220 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


She chose the tenderest of food for her little 
guest. In her curved beak she brought him the 
milk of wild goats and honey from the home of the 
bees. She gave him ripe, sweet berries and what- 
ever she could find that was good for a growing 
child. Her nestlings loved him as their brother, 
and shared with him all the pleasant things that 
were theirs in their lotty home. 

Thus months and years went by. The Simurgh 
never grew tired nor slacked her care. And the 
white-haired babe grew into a prattling boy, and then 
into a youth, strong and beautiful. 

II 

One day some travelers were passing near the 
foot of Mount Elburz. They looked up and saw 
the great nest of the Simurgh midway between the 
earth and the sky. As they looked they beheld a 
youth walking on the rocky height and going in 
and out of the nest as though it were his home. 
The youth was fair of face and faultless in form, but 
his long, flowing hair was white as snow. 

The travelers were filled with astonishment at 
what they saw, and went on, wondering, into Seistan. 
In every town they told of the strange sight they 
had seen, and the story soon spread through all the 


THE WHITE-HEADED ZAL 


221 


land. It was not long before a servant of the king 
heard it and it was repeated even to Saum, the hero. 

Then one night Saum dreamed a dream. He 
thought that a horseman came riding from the 
mountains with news of the son he had so cruelly 
cast off. The horseman stood before him and re-, 
proached him, saying: — 

“O foolish king, think now of your folly! You 
doomed your child to death for no other reason 
than that his hair was white. You feared the 
laughter of men; and still you are called a hero. 
Behold, you have been put to shame by a bird who 
has more pity and kindness than you for your own 
child. How long will you be so wicked, so cruel ? 
Arise I Make haste to find your son.” 

Then Saum awoke, sad at heart and sorely 
grieved. He called his head men to his bedside 
and asked them about the youth who had been 
seen on Mount Elburz. And one of them who was 
bolder than the rest spoke up and bitterly re- 
proached him. 

“ O hard-hearted king,” he said, “you have been 
more cruel than even the tiger or the bear; for 
even they love their little ones and do not cast 
them off for some blemish. And you, unfeeling 
man, have rejected your child because of his white 
hair. Go forth quickly and repair the evil you 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

have done. And if your child is still alive, take 
him to your heart and turn to the Almighty for 
forgiveness.” 

The king bowed himself to the earth in sorrow 
and shame. Then he gave orders that his fighting 
men should be put in readiness for marching. And 
the next day, at the head of a great army, with 
horses and camels and elephants, he set out for the 
mountains to look for his son. 

When he drew near the foot of Mount Elburz, 
Saum lifted his eyes and beheld the nest of the 
Simurgh high on the topmost peak. And, as he 
looked, he saw the wise bird and a tall youth with 
flowing white hair looking down from the edge of 
the gray cliff. He knew then that this was his son, 
and he would have climbed the steep rock if such 
had been possible. But the most that he could 
do was to bow down in the dust and ask God for 
help. 

And God heard him. For when the Simurgh 
saw that it was the king, she knew why he had 
come; and she said to the white-haired youth: — 

“ O nestling of my pride and love, the hour has 
come for us to part. For eighteen years I have 
been thy mother, and thou hast lived in this nest, 
while thy brothers have long ago flown away. But 
now thy father has come to seek thee ; and a kingly 


THE WHITE-HEADED ZAL 22 ^ 

throne is waiting for thee in Seistan, where thou 
shalt win great glory and renown.” 

Then the eyes of the youth were filled with tears. 

“Art thou weary of me, my mother.?” he said. 
“ Am I no longer good enough for this fair nest ? 
‘ This home on the lofty mountain peak is better 
than a throne. Thy wings protect me better than 
an army of men. I wish no glory but to stay with 
thee.” 

But the Simurgh would not listen to his plea. 

“ It breaks my heart to give thee up,” she said ; 
“but another destiny is thine. Be brave, my son. 
Go forth and do the work which the world requires 
of thee.” 

Then she took him up in her talons and gently 
carried him down to the spot where the king was 
kneeling in prayer. The mighty hero lifted his 
head. Great was his joy when he saw the white- 
haired youth standing beside him. He bent low 
To the Simurgh and blessed her. 

“ O noblest of birds ! ” he cried. “ O bird of 
heaven, by whom the wicked are put to shame! 
May great glory and endless life be thine I ” 

The bird made no answer, but flew up to her 
home on the lofty mountain peak. And as the 
king looked at his son, he saw that the youth was 
in every way worthy of admiration. Faultless he 


224 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


was in form and feature, and he had no blemish 
save his white hair. Proud, indeed, was the heart 
of the hero; and all his followers, when they saw 
the young man, shouted for joy. 

Then the young man was clothed in princely gar- 
ments. A sword was buckled to his side and a 
spear was put in his hand. And the king named 
him Zal, which means the Elder. 

After this the army began its return to Seistan, 
The drummers, on mighty elephants, rode in front. 
The trumpets sounded, the cymbals were clashed 
together, the fifes were played, and sounds of joy 
filled the air; for Zal, the white-haired prince, was 
going home. 

When the news reached Seistan, the city was 
dressed as for a holiday, and old and young went 
out with music and song to greet the new-found 
hero who was soon to be their king. 

Then the wise men of the country came, and the 
young prince was placed in their care to be taught 
all that one so noble should learn. As the days 
went by, Zal grew wiser and wiser, until his wisdom 
was the talk of the world. Then Saum, too old 
and feeble to rule longer, gave up his kingdom to 
his son. And for many long years Zal reigned 
with such prudence and skill that men still talk of 
the golden age of the white-headed king. 


PETER KLAUS THE GOATHERD 


I 

In the village of Sittendorf in Germany there 
dwelt, a long time ago, a poor but worthy man 
whose name was Peter Klaus. All the people 
for miles around knew Peter. He was not fond 
of hard work. He could not have been persuaded 
for all the money in the world to spend his days 
in a shop tinkering at a trade. He liked to be 
out of doors. He liked to wander at his ease in 
the fields and the woods, enjoying the sunlight 
and the flowers and the songs of the birds. 

Since he could not be induced to follow any 
occupation in the village, his neighbors some- 
times hired him to take care of their goats. 
Every morning he drove a great flock of Billies 
and Nannies out upon the slopes of the Kyff- 
hauser Mountain; and while they browsed upon 
the grass, he wandered around in the groves and 
glens or went to sleep on the sunny slope of some 
great rock. In the evening he got the goats to- 
gether and drove them slowly back to the village. 
This was just the kind of life that he liked, and 

THIRTY MORE FAM. STO. — 1 5 225 


226 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


he wished no grander title than that of “ Peter 
Klaus the goatherd.” 

One morning, soon after reaching the pasture, 
Peter missed the prettiest Nanny goat in the 
flock. He hunted for her among the rocks and 
in the thickets of underbrush; he called her; he 
climbed to the top 6f the hill whence he could 
see all over the country for miles around. But 
no stray goat could he find. 

When evening came and it was time to go home, 
he was in great despair. Should he go home and 
say that he had lost one of his flock? Such a thing 
had never happened before. But what was his sur- 
prise upon rounding up the flock, to see the lost 
Nanny in its midst! 

The same thing happened for several days. 
Every morning Nanny would disappear and 
nothing could be seen of her until late in the 
evening, when she would suddenly join her fel- 
lows and run, frisking and playing, back to the 
village. 

Peter was much puzzled, for, do what he could, 
he was unable to find out what the frolicking crea- 
ture did with herself during the day. At length 
he made up his mind not to take his eyes off her 
during the whole day. He watched her closely and 
saw that, when the flock passed the corner of an old 


PETER KLAUS THE GOATHERD 


227 


broken-down wall at the foot of a hill, she quietly 
dropped behind and was out of sight in a moment. 

Peter examined the wall. He had seen it many a 
time before. People said that it was part of the 
ruins of an old castle. As he looked closely he 
saw that, just behind a hawthorn bush, there was 
a hole large enough for a goat, or even a man on 
all-fours, to pass through. This, then, was the place 
where Nanny disappeared so strangely; indeed, she 
had worn quite a path beneath the hawthorn, and 
the only wonder was that her master had not dis^ 
covered it before. 

The next day Peter watched her as before, and 
when she ran slyly through the wall he followed 
her. After creeping on his hands and knees for 
some distance he found himself in a long and lofty 
cavern. The sunlight streamed through some crev- 
ices in the rocks and made the place look quite light 
and cheerful. At the farther end he saw Nanny 
busily picking up some oats that were scattered on 
the floor. How did the oats come there The 
plump grains were constantly trickling down from 
above, and the goat had nothing to do but stand 
and eat. 

Peter could not understand it. But as he came 
nearer he heard the stamping of heavy feet oven 
head and the whinnying of horses. 


228 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


“ Oh, somebody has a stable up there,” he said to 
himself; “but how can that be? I have been all 
over these hills, and have never seen even the sign 
of a house.” 

As he was looking about him, a door in the side 
of the cavern suddenly opened and a queer little 
fellow with a big head and saucer eyes came in. 

“ Good morning to you, sir,” said Peter, thinking 
it was the stable man. “ I beg you will pardon me 
for coming in without any invitation. Is there 
anything I can do to serve you ? ” 

The little man made no answer, but looked at 
Peter funnily with those great eyes, and beckoned 
him to follow. 

Peter was too good-natured to refuse, and besides 
this he was curious to learn all about the strange 
place. So he followed his queer guide through the 
door and up a long flight of stairs until he again 
felt the warm sun on his cheeks and saw the green 
grass beneath his feet. 

He saw that he was now in a square courtyard 
surrounded by stone walls and shaded by tall trees. 
His guide led him through another broad cavern 
and then out upon a green lawn that was fenced 
in on every side by tall cliffs and rocky heights. 
Near one end of the lawn were twelve old-fashioned 
knights playing at ninepins. The knights were 


PETER KLAUS THE GOATHERD 


229 



dressed in a very queer way. They wore long hose 
and silver-buckled shoes. Their snow-white hair 
and beards reached almost to their knees. 

They scarcely noticed Peter, so busy were they 
at their game, and not one of them spoke a word. 
The guide motioned to Peter to pick up the nine- 
pins and return the bowls to the bowlers. Peter 
was so badly frightened by the strangeness of every- 
thing that he dared not disobey. Trembling in 
every limb, he hastened to serve the knights as 
he was bidden. 

He noticed as the bowls were rolled over the 


230 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


lawn that they made a noise like thunder rumbling 
among the hills, and this frightened him still more. 
By and by, however, he began to gain courage. 
As the players were never in a hurry, he learned to 
humor himself and to do his work as slowly as he 
pleased. Looking around him, he saw a pitcher of 
wine and twelve golden goblets on a table at the 
end of the lawn. He did not stop to think that 
the goblets were for the knights and that there was 
none for him ; he was very thirsty, and he drank 
right out of the pitcher. 

The wine made him very brave. He felt that he 
would rather pick up ninepins than mind his 
neighbors’ goats ; and every time one of the bowls 
rolled toward the table he would run and take 
another sip from the pitcher. At last, however, 
his head began to feel heavy ; and while he was in 
the act of picking up the ninepins, he fell gently 
over upon the grass and went to sleep. 


II 

When Peter Klaus awoke he found himself lying 
on the grass where he had been in the habit of 
feeding his goats. He sat up and looked around. 
There were the same rocks upon which he had sat a 
hundred times; there were the same hills among 


PETER KLAUS THE GOATHERD 


231 


which he had so often wandered ; and there was the 
same noisy brook along which he had walked a 
thousand times with so much delight But the 
trees and shrubs seemed strange to him — they were 
much larger than when he had seen them before, 
and there were many new ones that he did not 
remember. 

He looked for his goats, but they were nowhere 
in sight. He called, but not one of them came 
to him. He started out to seek them, but was 
surprised to see that all the well-known paths 
among the hills were overgrown with tall grass. 
He rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was 
awake. “ Strange ! strange ! ” he muttered. “ I 
will go back to the village and see if the beasts 
are there.” 

His legs were so stiff that walking was a hard 
task. He stumbled along slowly, wondering why 
the rheumatism should trouble him so much. After 
a while he came to a spot from which he could see ^ 
the village spread out before him at the bottom of, 
the valley. It was the same pretty village of Sit- 
tendorf ; he could not see that it had changed. He 
hurried along to the main road, hoping to find his 
flock there. But not a goat could he see. 

Before reaching the village he met a number of 
people; but they were all strangers to him, and 


232 


THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 


they looked at him so queerly that he did not dare 
to ask any questions. In the village the women 
and children stood in their doorways and stared at 
him as he passed. All were strangers to him. He 
noticed that some of them stroked their chins and 
laughed ; and without thinking much about it, 
he put his hand to his own chin. What was his 
surprise to find that he had a beard more than a 
foot long ! 

“Ah, me! ” thought he. “ Am I mad, and has all 
the world gone mad too ? Where am I ? ” 

But he knew that the village was Sittendorf — for 
there were the church and the long street which he 
knew so well, and towering above them was the 
great Kyffhauser Mountain looking just as it did 
when he was a child. 

He went on until he came to his own house. It 
was greatly altered. The roof was beginning to fall 
in ; the door was off its hinges ; the rooms were 
empty and bare. He called his wife and children by 
their names ; but no one answered him. A strange 
dog came round the corner and snarled at him. 
A strange man in the next dooryard looked over the 
fence and told him to go away. 

Soon a crowd of idlers and women and children 
gathered around him. They were laughing at his 
long beard and his tattered clothes. A woman who 


PETER KLAUS THE GOATHERD 


233 


seemed more thoughtful than the rest asked him 
what he wanted. 

“ I don’t know what I want,” he answered. “ I 
came here to find my goats and I find everything 
and everybody lost. Does anybody know — ” 

He was about to inquire for his wife and children ; 
but he thought how odd that would seem, and 
stopped short. He was silent for a moment ; then 
he looked around at the circle of strange faces 
and asked, “ Where is Kurt Steffen, the black- 
smith.?” 

The crowd stared at him, but no one spoke. 
Then an old woman who had hobbled across the 
street to look at him answered, “ Kurt Steffen ! 
Why, Kurt Steffen went to the wars years and 
years ago. Nobody has heard from him since.” 

Poor Peter Klaus looked around him, more dazed 
than ever. His lips quivered pitifully as he asked, 
“Then where is Valentine Meyer, the shoemaker.?” 

“ Ah, me ! ” answered another old woman. “ Val- 
entine has been lying for nearly twenty years in a 
house that he will never leave.” 

Peter thought that he had seen both of the old 
women before — but as he remembered them they 
were young and handsome and of about his own 
age. He was about to ask another question when 
he saw a sprightly young mother, who looked very 


234 THIRTY MORE FAMOUS STORIES 

much like his wife, coming down the street. She 
was leading a little girl about four years of age, and 
on her arm was a year-old baby. He staggered and 
rubbed his eyes, and leaned against the wall for 
support. 

“ Does anybody know Peter Klaus, the goat- 
herd?” he stammered. 

“ Peter Klaus ! ” cried the young mother. “ Why, 
that was my father’s name. It is now twenty years 
since he was lost. His flock came home without 
him one evening, and all the village searched night 
and day among the hills and on the mountain, but 
could not find him. I was then only four years 
old.” 

“ And are you little Maria ? ” asked Peter, trem- 
bling harder than ever. 

“ My name is Maria,” was the answer, “ but I am 
no longer little Maria.” 

“ And I am your father ! ” cried Peter. “ I am 
Peter Klaus who was lost. Don’t any of you know 
Peter Klaus ? ” 

All who heard him were filled with astonishment ; 
and Maria, with her two children, rushed into his 
arms crying, “Welcome, father! Welcome home 
again! I felt sure it was you as soon as I saw 
you.” 

And soon all the old people in the village came 


PETER KLAUS THE GOATHERD 


235 


to greet him. “Peter Klaus.? Yes, yes, it seems 
only yesterday that you drove our goats to the 
pasture. How time does fly ! Welcome, old neigh- 
bor! Welcome home after being away twenty 
years.” 

Such is the old, old story of Peter Klaus. Hun-^ 
dreds of years ago the people of Germany talked 
about it and laughed over it. It is perhaps even 
older than the second part of the legend of 
Frederick Barbarossa, which, as you will remember, 
has some resemblance to it and also relates to a 
mysterious cavern in the Kyffhauser Mountain. 



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